Was February as Cold and Snowy as it Seemed?

Earlier this week I called Tom Hoverstad who is a scientist at the Southern Research and Outreach Center at Waseca. Tom tracks the official weather data at the Southern Research and Outreach Center. So, was February as cold and miserable as it seemed? I guess it depends on your personal opinion but it was definitely cold with a lot of snow.

While February was cold we did not set any records for temperatures. February of 2019 was in the top 5 coldest on record. Temperatures averaged 12 degrees below normal. However, we received 30.8 inches of snow which set the record for the most snow in February. Tom said they have weather records in Waseca that go back over 100 years.

The 30.8 inches of snow that fell in February amounted to just over 3 inches of precipitation. That is double the normal precipitation for February. With over 3 inches of precipitation on the landscape, there is potential for flooding this spring. Tom said hopefully we will see daily highs a little above freezing and lows at night below freezing allowing all this snow to melt slowly! So, bring on spring, but not too quickly!