000 CXUS51 KBUF 011933 CLMBUF CLIMATE REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY 214 PM EST SUN MAR 1 2009 ................................... ...THE BUFFALO NY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY 2009... CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1971 TO 2000 CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1871 TO 2009 WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR'S VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S) NORMAL ................................................................ TEMPERATURE (F) RECORD HIGH 71 02/26/2000 LOW -21 02/09/1934 HIGHEST 54 02/10 51 02/18 02/17 02/05 LOWEST -6 02/05 2 02/11 02/10 AVG. MAXIMUM 34.6 33.2 1.4 32.1 AVG. MINIMUM 19.8 18.6 1.2 18.1 MEAN 27.2 25.9 1.3 25.1 DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.0 0.0 0 DAYS MAX <= 32 13 14.2 -1.2 16 DAYS MIN <= 32 26 25.3 0.7 28 DAYS MIN <= 0 1 1.2 -0.2 0 PRECIPITATION (INCHES) RECORD MAXIMUM 5.90 1990 MINIMUM 0.46 1877 TOTALS 2.65 2.42 0.23 4.83 DAYS >= .01 13 20 DAYS >= .10 4 13 DAYS >= .50 3 3 DAYS >= 1.00 0 1 GREATEST 24 HR. TOTAL 1.33 02/11 TO 02/12 02/06 TO 02/06 02/26 TO 02/26 02/26 TO 02/26 SNOWFALL (INCHES) RECORDS TOTAL 54.2 5 0 -26215 TOTALS 11.6 17.8 -6.2 22.5 SINCE 7/1 97.7 80.7 17.0 SNOWDEPTH AVG. 2 MM MM 2 DAYS >= 1.0 4 5.4 -1.4 9 GREATEST SNOW DEPTH 8 02/01 5 02/28 02/27 24 HR TOTAL 3.1 02/03 DEGREE_DAYS HEATING TOTAL 1049 1110 -61 1149 SINCE 7/1 4897 4804 93 4404 COOLING TOTAL 0 0 0 0 SINCE 1/1 0 0 0 0 ................................................................. WIND (MPH) AVERAGE WIND SPEED 11.6 HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 41/220 HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 54/220 DATE 02/12 SKY COVER POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) 54 NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 4 NUMBER OF DAYS PC 16 NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 8 AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 74 WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH THUNDERSTORM 0 MIXED PRECIP 1 HEAVY RAIN 1 RAIN 4 LIGHT RAIN 7 FREEZING RAIN 0 LT FREEZING RAIN 3 HAIL 0 HEAVY SNOW 3 SNOW 7 LIGHT SNOW 17 SLEET 0 FOG 16 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 4 HAZE 9 - INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS. R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED. MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING. T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT. $$ ...A QUIETER END TO METEOROLOGICAL WINTER... AFTER TWO AND A HALF MONTHS OF WINTERS FURY...FEBRUARY WAS RATHER TAME WITH SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND BELOW AVERAGE SNOWFALL. IN FACT FEBRUARY WAS THE FIRST MONTH SINCE SEPTEMBER THAT THE MEAN TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTH PLACED ABOVE NORMAL. THERE WERE NO RECORD TEMPERATURES SET THIS MONTH...AND DAILY SNOWFALLS EQUATED TO THE MANAGEABLE NICKLE AND DIME VARIETY THAT KEPT AREA ROADWAYS SLICK. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 27.2F WAS 1.3 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL FOR THE MONTH AND WAS THE 47TH WARMEST FEBRUARY OF 139 YEARS OF RECORDS. THE HIGHEST TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTH WAS 54 DEGREES WHICH WAS SET ON THE 10TH WHEN SOUTHERLY WINDS TRANSPORTED MUCH WARMER AIR FROM THE SOUTH NORTHWARD ACROSS WESTERN NEW YORK. THE COLDEST TEMPERATURE WAS SET ON THE 5TH WHEN CLEAR SKIES AND LIGHT WINDS ALLOWED THE TEMPERATURE TO PLUMMET TO NEGATIVE 6 DEGREES. THERE WERE FOUR DAYS WHEN THE TEMPERATURE REACHED 50 DEGREES OR HIGHER. THE SECOND WEEK WAS DOMINATED BY ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES CONTRASTING THE THIRD WEEK THAT WAS DOMINATED BY BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES. PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY WAS SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL...WITH 2.65 INCHES FALLING. TWO MAIN EVENTS WITH RAIN CHANGING TO SNOW...ONE ON THE 11TH AND 12TH (0.70 INCHES AND 0.88 INCHES RESPECTIVELY) AND A SECOND ON THE 27TH (0.51 INCHES) YIELD MUCH OF THE PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH. TEMPERATURES INCREASED DURING THE SECOND WEEK IN FEBRUARY...TOPPING WITH THREE STRAIGHT DAYS WITH 50 OR ABOVE TEMPERATURES ON THE 10TH THROUGH 12TH. THIS WARMING TREND LEAD TO RAPID SNOWPACK ABLATION. THESE TEMPERATURES COMBINED WITH FALLING RAIN SWELLED MANY AREA CREEKS AND RIVERS TO NEAR OR ABOVE FLOOD STAGE. HIGH WINDS ON THE 12TH...INCLUDING A PEAK WIND GUST OF 54 MPH BROUGHT TREE LIMBS AND POWER LINES DOWN ACROSS THE METRO BUFFALO AREA. FEBRUARY'S TOTAL OF 11.6 INCHES OF SNOW WAS NEARLY 6 INCHES SHORT OF NORMAL. THE GREATEST DAILY SNOW WAS 3.1 INCHES WHICH OCCURRED ON THE 3RD WHEN AN INVERTED TROUGH PASSED FROM NORTHEAST TO SOUTHWEST ACROSS WESTERN NEW YORK. THE SECOND GREATEST SNOWFALL WAS 2.8 INCHES WHICH OCCURRED LATE ON THE 12TH AND INTO THE EARLY HOURS OF 13TH. THIS WET SNOW OCCURRED ON THE BACK SIDE OF A STORM SYSTEM. THE SNOWPACK THAT BEGAN LATE IN DECEMBER AND HELD STEADY THROUGH JANUARY ERODED THROUGH THE FIRST WEEK IN FEBRUARY. BY THE 9TH WE WERE DOWN TO JUST A TRACE OF SNOW ON THE GROUND AT THE BUFFALO AIRPORT. FOR THE REST OF THE MONTH THE DAILY SNOWPACK DID NOT EXCEED ONCE INCH. SUNSHINE IN FEBRUARY WAS 16 PERCENT ABOVE NORMAL FOR THE MONTH. JUST OVER HALF (54 PERCENT) THE DAYLIGHT HOURS HAD SUNSHINE...INCLUDING A STRETCH FROM THE 13TH TO THE 17TH WHERE ALL DAYS HAD AT LEAST 50 PERCENT OF POSSIBLE SUNSHINE AND FOUR OF THOSE FIVE DAYS HAD MORE THAN THREE QUARTERS SUNSHINE. EIGHT OF THE TWENTY EIGHT DAYS IN FEBRUARY HAD 80 PERCENT OR MORE SUNSHINE. MUCH OF THE EASTERN END OF LAKE ERIE REMAINED FROZEN THROUGH THE MONTH. ALTHOUGH CRACKS IN THE ICE ALLOWED FOR SOME LAKE EFFECT...THE NEARLY FROZEN LAKE REDUCED THE LAKE EFFECT SNOWS POTENTIAL. IN SUMMARY THIS FEBRUARY WILL BE NOTED FOR THE LACK OF BIG SNOW EVENTS AND THE ABUNDANCE OF FEBRUARY SUNSHINE. && THOMAS &&