A February for the record books
We’ve arrived at March 1 with the official start of spring merely a few weeks away. Nobody is waiting around for the calendar to mark that event because we’ve already enjoyed shorts and T-shirt weather so many days during this wild and mild winter!
As I write this, we have two more days of February with only rain and 50-plus degrees temperatures in the forecast. It’s safe to say that this February will go down in the record books for Pittsburgh as the least snowy February on record. While some folks north of Allegheny County and closer to Interstate 80 did pick up a couple more inches of snow over the past month, the official measurement for Pittsburgh stands at 0.2 inches of snow for the month, marking the least snowy February on record. The previous record was set in 1909 when a mere 0.5″ inch of snow fell that February. If you’re wondering, the most snow ever measured in Pittsburgh in February was in 2010, when a whopping 48.7 inches of the white stuff blanketed the area. For the month, Pittsburgh is almost 11 inches below normal for snowfall. For the entire season, that deficit stands at more than 20 inches!
As for temperature, I wrote a few weeks ago how warm January was in our area. Pittsburgh wound up with an average monthly temperature in January that was 8.1 degrees warmer than normal. February is rivaling that with an average temperature for the month standing at 39.6 degrees. That is 8.5 degrees warmer than normal and ties 1882 for the fifth warmest February on record in Pittsburgh. The warmest February on record in Pittsburgh happened back in 1871 with a monthly average temperature of 42.7 degrees.
If that’s not enough warm winter data for you, here’s another weird fact: We hit 70 degrees or warmer for a daytime high three times in February. That is the first time we’ve ever measured that many 70-plus degree days in Pittsburgh in February. Those high temperatures were 70 on Feb. 9, 71 on the 15th and 70 on Feb. 23. For reference, Pittsburgh historically only sees a temperature above 70 degrees about once every 10 years. The warmest temperature recorded in Pittsburgh in February ever was 78 degrees in 2018, and we hit 76 degrees a day in February 2016.
As we begin March, it looks like it will come in like a lamb, with highs in the 60s and sunshine, and above normal highs again Thursday. Don’t let that fool you, however, as we know all too well that March around here can turn cool, wet and even snowy. If you’re just too used to the warm temperatures and ready for spring to even think about a chance for snow this month, here’s a warm March fact for you: The warmest temperature recorded so early in the year in Pittsburgh was 78 degrees back on March 5 in 2004.
Kristin Emery can be reached at kristinemery1@yahoo.com.