New York City Weather Archive

New York Weather History: February (1979 - 2013)

Highlights: Presidents' Day snowstorms of 1979 and 2003; two snowstorms three days apart in 1994 dump 22"; NYC's biggest snowfall of all-time occurs on Feb. 11-12, 2006; Valentine's Day ice storm in 2007; zero degrees on Feb 18, 1979; 75 degrees on Feb. 24, 1985; 20.9" of snow falls on Feb. 25-26, 2010.

 

Feb 1

Feb 2

Feb 3

Feb 4

Feb 5

Feb 6

Feb 7

Feb 8

Feb 9

Feb 10

Feb 11

Feb 12

Feb 13

Feb 14

Feb 15

Feb 16

Feb 17

Feb 18

Feb 19

Feb 20

Feb 21

Feb 22

Feb 23

Feb 24

Feb 25

Feb 26

Feb 27

Feb 28

Feb 29

 

Today in New York Weather History: February 28

 

• 1981 - After an extremely dry December and January, February was the wettest since 1939. (Interestingly, December and January each received the same meager amount of precipitation - 0.58").  Nearly four inches of rain fell in the past week-and-a-half, more than the previous thirteen weeks combined.  

 

• 1998 - This was the mildest February on record, 7 degrees above average (later tied in 2002), and with no snowfall.  This followed an equally mild January which was 8.5 degrees above average.  And the mild trend continued today, with temperatures 11 degrees above average.   

 

• 2002 - The very mild temperatures in January and February were as mild as those in 1998.  In both years the mean temperature was 40.0 degrees in January and 40.6 degrees in February.    

 

• 2007 - This was the coldest February since 1979, 6.3 degrees colder than normal.  However, despite the cold conditions just 3.8 inches of snow fell.  Today was one of the handful of days with above average temps. 

 

• 2008 - Today's high of 28/low of 18 was fifteen degrees colder than average. 

Today in New York Weather History: February 27

During the prime snowfall season between December 15 thru March 15, no accumulation of one inch or more has occurred on February 27, January 31, or March 10 (based on records going back 50 years).

• 1981 - In the past twelve days the mean temperature was 14.5 degrees above average (high/low of 55/43).

 

• 1988 - A raw Saturday with periods of wet snow that accumulated 0.6", which was the last snowfall of the winter.  In total, just 18" of snow fell all winter (ten inches below average). 

 

• 1996 - It was a month of wild temperature swings and today was the 17th day in which the mean temperature was either ten degrees or more above or below average.  Today, with a high of 58, was the ninth day in a row with that was ten+ degrees above average.

 

• 1997 - Today's high of 72 (twenty-nine degrees above average) was the third record high in the past nine days, but it was just two days after a low of 19, which was three days after a high of 69.   

 

• 2013 - A nor'easter lashed the area overnight and its howling winds gusted to 40-50 mph throughout the region.  By the time the storm moved out late this morning, 1.54" had poured down.  This was a record amount for the date, breaking the old record from 100 years ago.   

Today in New York Weather History: February 26

• 1970 - The morning low of 9 degrees at 7AM was 45 degrees colder than it was yesterday at 2PM (17 hours).  

 

• 1990 - A high of 25/low of +7 made this the coldest day of the year, but not the coldest day of the winter, as that occurred back on December 23 when the high/low was 22/6.  This tied 1970 as the latest date for a low in the single digits since 1967 (when the mercury bottomed out at 8 degrees on March 19).  

 

• 1991 - A surprise snowstorm dumped 8.9" of wet snow, the biggest accumulation in eight years (when 17.6" buried the City on February 11-12, 1983 ).  Because the temperature was just above freezing for much of the day the snow didn't accumulate much on the streets or sidewalks.  This was the winter's third snowfall of 5 inches or more.

 

• 1994 - The 1.4" of snow that fell at around daybreak was the 11th snowfall this winter of one inch or more, the most since the winter of 1963-64. 

 

• 1995 - The last snowfall of the winter fell during the morning when 0.5" accumulated.  This was the earliest date for the final accumulation since the winter of 1985/86 when it occurred on February 15.  (Average date for the last snowfall is March 16.)

 

• 2010 - After 9.4" of snow fell last night, an additional 11.5" fell today, ending in the early afternoon.  The storm's total of 20.9" made this the fourth largest accumulation in NYC history - and just 0.1" shy of the total from the great blizzard of March 1888.  With this storm February's total snowfall reached 36.9", the most ever measured in any month.  (And this was without any snow from the big Mid-Atlantic blizzard of February 4-5 that stopped at our doorstep.)  This ended up being the last snowfall of the winter.

Today in New York Weather History: February 25

• 1978 - Although today's high was only 41 degrees (and three degrees below average), it was the mildest reading of the month.

• 1982 - Today's high was 28 degrees, the only day in February with a below-freezing high temperature.  This was in contrast to January which had sixteen days that stayed below freezing for the entire day.

 

• 1984 - Today was the last of seventeen days in a row with above-average temperatures.  During this streak temperatures were 12 degrees above normal.

 

• 1985 - The incredibly mild high/low of 69/49 averaged in the past four days was 24 degrees warmer than average - and more typical of late April.

 

• 1990 - 1.8" of snow fell in the very early hours of the morning and then bitter cold air moved in.  At midnight the temperature was down to 10.  This was the first measurable snow in five weeks and the only snowfall in February.  It was also the biggest accumulation of the winter (until March 6 when 3.1" fell). 

 

• 2010 - After starting in the morning as steady rain a changeover to snow occurred in the afternoon and developed into NYC's third major snowstorm of the winter.  9.4" had fallen by midnight - and a lot more fell overnight.  The day's total precipitation amounted to two inches, just two days after 1.42" fell. 

 

 

• 2012 - The area was raked with high winds that gusted between 45-55 mph in many places.  Central Park recorded a peak gust of 53 mph, the highest gust since last August when Hurricane Irene struck. 

Today in New York Weather History: February 24

 

• 1985 - Today's high of 75 broke the old record by 10 degrees and tied February 25, 1930 for the warmest reading ever reported in February.  This followed by two months a 70-degree day at the end of December (and one month after a sub-zero morning low). 

 

• 2005 - Snow moved in during the evening and by 3AM on the 25th six inches had accumulated.

 

• 2010 - Today's low of 36 degrees was February's mildest low temperature.

 

• 2011 - This was the first morning since December 26 with less than an inch of snow on the ground in Central Park, a span of sixty days.  

Today in New York Weather History: February 23

• 1972 - It was a very wintry day as a frigid morning with a low of 9 degrees was followed by a nighttime snowfall of 5.2" (which fell between 7PM and 1:30AM). 

 

• 1987 - 4.2" of heavy, wet snow fell between 2-11AM, accounting for half of the month's precipitation.  The temperature rose into the low 40's in the afternoon.   

 

1994 - Today's snowfall of 2.6" (0.3" of which fell in the wee hours of 2/24) was this winter's tenth snowfall of one inch or more.  The last winter to have this many snowfalls was the winter of 1966-67.  

 

• 2010 - A cold rain fell throughout the day, totaling 1.20".  Just three degrees separated the day's high/low (38/35).  The rain continued until daybreak on the 24th, adding 0.42".

Today in New York Weather History: February 22

• 1980 - 1.1" of snow fell before a changeover to rain took place.  This was the month's second, and last day, of precipitation.  The last time there were so few days of precipitation in a month was back in October 1963.

 

• 1981 - This was the 7th day in a row in which the mean temperature was at least 12 degrees above average.  The high/low during these days was 58/45, seventeen degrees milder than normal.  This streak came in the midst of seventeen days of above-average temps (February 14-March 2). 

 

• 1986 - For the 4th day in a row the high temperature was 40 degrees.

 

• 1997 - Today's springlike high of 69 was a record for the date and three degrees warmer than two days ago when another record high was set.  

 

• 2001 - 5.5" of snow fell tonight between 5-11PM, the fourth snowfall of 4 inches or more this winter.  It was a fluffy snow with just 0.31" of water content.

 

• 2008 - Six inches of slushy snow fell during the morning and continued thru early afternoon.  This was the biggest snowfall of the winter - and the largest accumulation since New York's biggest snowstorm of all time two Februarys ago.  Today's snow was also a record for the date.  

Today in New York Weather History: February 21

During the period 1979-2012, February 21 has never had a high temperature of 32 degrees or colder.  This is the only date between December 3 and March 3 to have such a distinction.

 

• 1981 - Just two degrees separated today's high and low of 49/47.

 

• 1993 - 4.3" of wet snow fell on this Sunday evening, mixing with some freezing rain and rain near the end as the temperature hovered around freezing.  This was the largest accumulation of the winter so far, but it would be easily topped three weeks later by the March Superstorm.

 

• 2003 - Today's high of 50 degrees was the mildest temperature of a very cold month (the coldest since 1979).  It matched January's mildest reading.

 

• 2007 - At just 49 degrees, today was the mildest reading of a February that was even colder than 2003 (above).

 

• 2010 - Today's high of 46 was one of the lowest readings to be the mildest temperature of a winter month.    

Today in New York Weather History: February 20

 

• 1981 - A rainstorm that began yesterday dropped 0.85" in the bucket last night and 1.77" today for a total of 2.62".  This was the biggest rainstorm in seven months.

• 2005 - The first measurable snow of the month fell today.  Over the next ten days three mini-snowstorms of five inches+ would pass through, dumping a total of 18.7" of snow.  The first storm moved in this evening after 9PM, and by the time the snow ended at 10AM on the 21st, five inches had accumulated

• 2007 - Today was the 36th day in a row with a low temperature of 32 degrees or colder, the longest such streak since one of 51 days in the winter of 1976-77.