Monthly Overview - February 2020

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Precipitation

Drier weather to the north and wetter weather to the south led to near-normal precipitation for the Midwest in February (Figure 1).  Regionwide precipitation was 1.97 inches which was 0.07 inches above normal.  Areas of Iowa, northern Missouri, northern Minnesota, northern Illinois and northern Wisconsin received less than half the normal amount in February (Figure 2), with some areas in Iowa and Minnesota receiving less than 25 percent.  However, much wetter conditions were observed across the Ohio River Valley, with southeastern Kentucky more than 200 percent of normal.
 

Temperature

Temperatures in February were largely near normal across the Midwest (Figure 3).  Average temperature for the region was 27.1°F which was 0.6°F above normal.  Areas of the Upper Midwest were slightly colder, while the Ohio River Valley and Lower Michigan were slightly warmer.  Most of Missouri and Illinois were within a degree of normal.  Extreme warmth was widespread during the first week of the month (Figure 4), where more than 390 daily high temperature records were broken (Figure 5).  Two colder weeks followed before near-normal temperatures were observed in the final week of the month.  More than 460 daily low temperature record were recorded from this cold stretch (Figure 6). 
 

Snowfall

Snowfall across the Midwest varied as several different storm tracks brought heavy snow (Figure 7).  Amounts in the 8-12-inch range were common from southern Minnesota through Wisconsin and Michigan.  Areas through central Illinois, northern Indiana and northern Ohio had 5-10 inches for the month.  Lake-effect snowfall in the U.P. of Michigan led to amounts of more than 30 inches.  However, areas in the Ohio River Valley, Iowa and northern Minnesota and Wisconsin had less than half the normal snowfall for the month (Figure 8).
 

Warm and Wet Winter

Meteorological Winter was very warm across the Midwest (Figure 9).  Average temperature for the December-February period was 28.4°F which was 3.6°F above normal.  This ranked as the 10th warmest December-February on record (1895-96 to 2019-20).  Almost the entire region was above normal for the months of December (Figure 10) and January (Figure 11), while February temperatures regionwide were also slightly above normal. Meanwhile, winter precipitation was high across the Midwest (Figure 12).  December-February precipitation for the region was 7.28 inches which was 1.58 inches above normal (Figure 13).  This ranked as the 10th wettest December-February on record (1895-96 to 2019-20).  Storms often tracked through southern Missouri and the Ohio River Valley, while heavy precipitation also fell in northern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and the U.P. of Michigan.  Iowa was the only state where below-normal winter precipitation was common.

Winter conditions as measured by the Accumulated Winter Season Severity Index (AWSSI) showed a mild or moderate winter for cities across the Midwest through the end of February (Figure 14).  Through scoring of snowfall, snow depth, and temperatures, the AWSSI scored only a few stations in the Upper Midwest as having a severe or extreme winter.  Marquette, MI was in the highest category, extreme, through the end of February (Figure 15) as heavy snow and snow depths of more than 24 inches were prevalent throughout the winter.  Louisville, KY and Lexington, KY were considered record mild through the end of February, with most stations in the Ohio River Valley were in the mild category.
 

Flooding

Flooding impacted the Ohio River Valley and Kentucky throughout February (Figure 16).  In eastern Kentucky, heavy rain in early February left large areas under water.  Harlan County, KY was one of the hardest hit by flooding.  Floodgates in the county were shut while people were trapped in their homes as waters quickly rose.  Minor to moderate flooding also occurred throughout Indiana and Kentucky in mid-February.  Heavy rain from several storms, along with near-saturated soils caused rivers and streams to rise throughout the Ohio River Valley.
 

Midwest Remains Drought Free

The Midwest was drought free throughout the month of February according to the U.S. Drought Monitor (Figure 17).  The region also was free of abnormally dry conditions.  A streak of 16 consecutive weeks without drought and seven consecutive weeks without abnormally dry conditions was active through the February 27th update.
 

-BJP-