February 2014 Summary – Cold and Snowy

Blue Hill Observatory
February 2014 Summary:

The month was notable for many cold days and well above average snowfall.  The 24-hour mean temperature for the month of 26.4F was exactly equal to the 120-year average for February, but this was 2.7 degrees colder than the 1981-2010 30-year average, due to the very strong upward trend in February mean temperature of about 5 degrees since the late 19th century.  There were 16 days colder than normal during the month and three days that equaled the average. The only respite from the cold was the first two days of the month and a four day stretch from the 20th to 23rd that featured well above average temperatures. The maximum temperature for the month was 53F on the 2nd, and the coldest temperature of 2F was observed on the 12th.  The total precipitation for February of 5.47 inches was about 1.5 inches more than average for the month.  Frequent snowfalls during February totaled 33.0 inches, which was about 17 inches above the long-term average. The greatest snowfall in 24 hours was 11.1 inches on the 5th-6th, which included snowfall rates over 1 inch per hour and a total melted equivalent precipitation of 1.34 inches. A thunderstorm was observed during the passage of a cold front on the 21st. The mean wind speed for February was the slowest on record for the month at 12.6 mph with a prevailing direction of W. The peak wind gust for February was 48 mph from the W on the 14th and again from the WNW on the 24th. This value ties for the lowest peak gust observed during February with 1980 and 1987 for records since 1956. The month was on the sunny side, with a bright sunshine total of 54 percent of possible, which was four percent more than average.