Temperature'

The final week of February was a warmer one, with above-normal temperatures for most of the region. Average temperatures were as much as 15-18°F above normal across Minnesota for the week, with places south of I-80 generally 8-12°F above normal (Figure 1). Across southern and eastern Kentucky, temperatures averaged near normal.

Minimum temperatures were most above normal across the Upper Midwest, particularly in Minnesota, northern Wisconsin, and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (UP), where they were at least 10°F above normal for the week (Figure 2). In northern Minnesota, minimum temperatures averaged nearly 20°F above normal. Along I-70 minimum temperatures were near normal, but south of there in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, and most of Kentucky, temperatures were 3-6°F below normal. In Lamar, Missouri, the minimum temperature was -4°F on February 22 for the third consecutive day, which is only the 6th time that temperatures were at or below -4°F in February for three consecutive days since records began in 1890. In Butler, Missouri, a station with records dating back to 1890 recorded a temperature of -9°F or below for three consecutive days, February 20-22, for the first time on record. Regarding above-normal records, in Duluth, Minnesota a minimum temperature of 36°F was observed on February 24, which is tied with 6 other dates for the 2nd warmest minimum temperature in February on record since 1871.

Maximum temperatures overachieved across the entire Midwest. West of the Mississippi River, maximum temperatures averaged 15-20°F above normal, and slightly over that in southwestern Minnesota (Figure 3). Maximum temperatures were generally 10-15°F above normal across the middle of the region, and 7-10°F above normal for the Ohio Valley.

Precipitation/Drought

There was minimal precipitation to end February. Most of the region received no precipitation, and where there was any, it was below normal (Figure 4). In Michigan’s UP over 6 inches of snow fell in the Sault Ste. Marie area. The National Weather Service’s Gaylord Office officially received 149.5 inches of snow at their observation site to end the meteorological winter, which was the highest seasonal snowfall since records began there in 1998.

As of February 25, drought conditions were expanded in parts of the region. D1 (moderate drought) covers nearly 40% of the region and was specifically expanded across northeastern Missouri, Central Illinois, and northern Indiana (Figure 5). D2 (severe drought) was slightly expanded across mid-Michigan.