Temperatures

Average temperatures were most below normal across Ohio, where parts of the state were over 15°F below normal for the week (Figure 1). Temperatures were 10-15°F below normal across much of the Ohio River Basin, with lesser anomalies heading north and west. Temperatures were slightly above normal for the week across western Iowa and western Minnesota.

Minimum temperatures averaged as much as 20-24°F below normal across Ohio (Figure 2). Eastern Michigan, Indiana, southern Illinois, southeastern Missouri, and Kentucky were at least 8-12°F below normal for the week. Minimum temperatures were near normal across much of Minnesota and Iowa, though some parts of western Iowa were 4-8°F above normal. Fort Wayne observed a minimum temperature of -9°F on February 1, the coldest February temperature in Fort Wayne since 2014. In Portsmouth, Ohio, a station observed two consecutive days of temperatures dropping to -2°F, February 5-6, marking the coldest consecutive minimum temperatures there since 2015.

Maximum temperatures were below normal to the south and east, and near or above normal across to the north and west (Figure 3). Temperatures were 10-15°F below normal across most of Kentucky and Ohio, while temperatures were 5-10°F below normal for most of Indiana. Temperatures were near normal for most of Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (UP). They were 3-6°F normal for western Minnesota and western Iowa, with slightly higher anomalies in western Iowa.

Precipitation/Drought

Precipitation was lackluster, with little to no precipitation observed anywhere south of I-80 (Figure 4). There was some light snow over eastern Indiana, western Ohio, and the Kentucky Coalfields, but it was still less than 50 percent of normal precipitation for the period. Precipitation was below normal across most of the Upper Midwest, except for a small portion of northwestern Minnesota, where it was near normal.

With minimal precipitation, drought slightly worsened across the region this week (Figure 5).