February 2012 Temperatures
We had some snow in January but what we got in February actually resembled a storm. Still, with a winter season snowfall of 2.8 inches, winter has been virtually snow-free for the Ozarks.
The month had a definite cool snap but was still ended up way above normal. As in January, February had a few sixty-degree days, a total of 7. The warmest day of the month was on the 23rd reaching 68 degrees. The month ended up 3.5 degrees above normal.
The coldest blast of weather so far this winter came in on a strong high pressure system on the weekend of the 11/12th. Both mornings recorded a low of 10 above. This cold air was the set-up for accumulating snow on Monday the 13th.
The snow on that Monday was not a classic low pressure system. Southerly winds dominated throughout the event. Springfield picked up 1.7″. The blog for the snowstorm of winter 2011-2012 is here. Our seasonal snowfall total stands at 2.8″ This is a tie for second for least snowiest seasons on record with the season 1931-1932.
The month actually ended up slight above normal in precipitation. The major precipitation hits were on the 3rd, the 15th and the 29th.
Of course, the biggest story of the month was the leap day outbreak of tornadoes. This story is still being written. I will continue to blog about this and the Springfield National Weather Service will fill in more information on their web site as it continues to come in.