April-Like Temperatures to Christen the Start of February

This has been one of the quietest Winters in recent memory. Less than a foot of snow (11.4") has been recorded since the October Nor'easter, which is two-and-a-half inches below normal through this date. However, that doesn't come close to the 54.4 inch total we received through January one year ago. Now, a warm-up is expected today and tomorrow with daytime high temperatures climbing into the 50s. In case you're wondering, the first day of Spring is exactly seven weeks from tomorrow.

This Thursday is Groundhog Day. Another huge crowd is expected at Gobbler's Nob to find out whether Punxatawney Phil, the famed "weather prognosticator," sees his shadow. If Phil emerges from his burrow to see his shadow, we can be assured of at least six more weeks of Winter. If he doesn't see his shadow, Spring can't be far behind. I hope he doesn't see his shadow. This Winter has been a welcome change from what we experienced just one year ago.

Another benchmark of the season occurs two days later, Saturday, February 4th. That's when we reach the official midpoint of Winter, marking 45 days since the Winter Solstice and 45 days until the Vernal Equinox. I've always considered the date an important milestone, since we've begun "turning the corner," so-to-speak.  However, there is still quite a bit of Winter left.

As for February, it brings an average of 7.2 inches of snow locally, trailing only January as the snowiest month of the year based on 40 years of climatology. There have been a couple of memorable snowstorms in February, including the 16-inch President's Day blizzard, Monday, February 17, 2003. That still stands as the snowiest February day on record. Other impressive snowstorms next month include the 15.9 inch storm on February 9, 1969, and 13 inches of snow on February 16, 1958. There were three other snowstorms with at least a foot of snow, most recently the 12.5 inches which fell on February 12, 2006.

The average daily temperatures begin to slowly climb during February, from a mean of 30 on February 1 to a mean of 35 by the end of the month. The average daily high temperature jumps from 37 to 41 degrees, and the average overnight low temperature increases from 23 to 28. The coldest February day on record across southwestern Connecticut was five degrees below zero on February 8, 1963. The mercury fell to three degrees below zero on February 2, 1961.

There have been several mild days in February, too. The warmest temperature ever recorded during the month was 67 degrees, established three times, most recently on February 27, 1997. There have been 11 dates in February on which the mercury reached at least 60 degrees. The warmest February on record locally happened in 1997 when the average temperature was 37.3 degrees.

On the flip side, the coldest February on record happened in 1978 when the average temperature was only 24.1 degrees. That was also the year of the famous blizzard when nearly a foot of snow fell on February 6, and the late-Governor Ella Grasso effectively "closed the state" due to the heavy snow and icy roadways.

The amount of daily sunshine continues to increase throughout the month. On the first day of the month, we enjoy a little more than 10 hours of daylight. However, by the last day of the month, the Sun is out for 11 hours and 16 minutes. That's an increase of one hour and 12 minutes! In fact, the Sun sets at 5:09 tomorrow afternoon, but it doesn't drop below the horizon until 5:42 on February 28. Sunrise also happens earlier throughout the month. The Sun rises at 7:04 on the first day of the month, but it rises over a half-hour earlier (6:27) by the last day of the month!

Can Spring be far behind?

Paul