February 2000
Temperature and Precipitation Anomalies.
February temperatures were far above normal throughout the Midwest, with state anomalies ranging from +6.5 Deg F to +9.4 Deg F (Figure 1). The first week of February was below normal to near normal in temperature, but temperatures reached above normal levels by the 10th and stayed there almost continuously through the end of the month. The last 7 days of February were exceptionally warm, with the period averaging 14 Deg F to 28 Deg F above normal in the Midwest (Figure 2). International Falls, MN, set an all-time record for February temperature maximum of 58 Deg F on the 22nd. On the 25th and 26th, 9 locations across the Midwest recorded record high maxima for February, 5 recorded record high minima for February, and many other places set records for the day. The western and northwestern portions of the region were warmest, while the eastern extent was slightly less anomalous. The highest ranked individual state was Minnesota, which had its 8th warmest February on record. Overall, the Midwest had its 10th warmest February in 106 years, and the warm February and late January caused the climatological winter (December, January, February) to rank as the 12th warmest for the region.
The Midwest received considerably more precipitation than normal in February (Figure 3), especially in the Ohio Valley, where some significant flooding occurred in Ohio and Kentucky (see below). Indiana was the highest ranked individual state, having had its 9th wettest February. However, most of this precipitation fell in the southern portion of the state. Even though the Midwest had its 17th wettest February, major drought conditions were not alleviated in Minnesota, Iowa, central and northern Illinois and Indiana, and northwestern Ohio. Despite the copious precipitation in February, the winter season precipitation total ranked only 40th wettest and did not make up for the dry late summer and fall in 1999.
A very strong low pressure system swept through the Midwest on Feb 18th, leaving behind copious amounts of precipitation. Despite the generally warm conditions of February, up to 11 inches of heavy wet snow fell in northern Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, and in southern Wisconsin and Michigan. In northern Illinois, 54,000 customers lost power briefly. Chicago's O'Hare airport reported 250 United Airlines flights canceled, along with hundreds more for other airlines. Hundreds of flights were also canceled at the Detroit airport.
Despite these winter storm conditions, the greatest impact of the event occurred further south, where 3 to 6 inches of rain fell along the axis of the Ohio Valley (Figure 4). While the heaviest rain fell just outside the region in West Virginia, the resulting flood wave rolling down the Ohio River compounded flash flood damage in southern Ohio and northeastern Kentucky. In Ohio, one person died when driving along a flooded road, and in Kentucky, two people died on a flooded road and one person died after losing control on a wet highway. A federal disaster declaration was enacted for 11 counties in northeast Kentucky, where an estimated $15 M in damages were caused by both flash flooding and flooding along the Ohio River (Figure 5). In Ohio, a federal disaster declaration was enacted for five counties along the Ohio River (Figure 6). More information can be found at the FEMA Website.