CXUS51 KBUF 011940 CLMROC CLIMATE REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY 214 PM EST SUN MAR 1 2009 ................................... ...THE ROCHESTER NY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY 2009... CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1971 TO 2000 CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1830 TO 2009 WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR'S VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S) NORMAL ................................................................ TEMPERATURE (F) RECORD HIGH 73 02/21/1997 LOW -22 02/09/1934 HIGHEST 57 02/27 53 02/18 LOWEST 3 02/05 0 02/29 AVG. MAXIMUM 37.1 33.2 3.9 33.5 AVG. MINIMUM 20.9 17.3 3.6 19.2 MEAN 29.0 25.3 3.7 26.4 DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.0 0.0 0 DAYS MAX <= 32 10 13.8 -3.8 13 DAYS MIN <= 32 25 25.3 -0.3 28 DAYS MIN <= 0 0 1.8 -1.8 1 PRECIPITATION (INCHES) RECORD MAXIMUM 5.04 1876 MINIMUM 0.21 1841 TOTALS 1.63 2.04 -0.41 4.27 DAYS >= .01 12 18 DAYS >= .10 3 10 DAYS >= .50 1 4 DAYS >= 1.00 0 1 GREATEST 24 HR. TOTAL 0.82 02/11 TO 02/12 02/06 TO 02/06 02/26 TO 02/26 02/26 TO 02/26 SNOWFALL (INCHES) RECORDS TOTAL 64.8 5 0 -26215 TOTALS 13.9 22.2 -8.3 23.7 SINCE 7/1 100.5 78.1 22.4 82.4 SNOWDEPTH AVG. 2 MM MM 1 DAYS >= 1.0 5 6.8 -1.8 8 GREATEST SNOW DEPTH 9 02/01 6 02/27 24 HR TOTAL 5.3 02/20 02/26 TO 02/26 02/26 TO 02/26 02/26 TO 02/26 DEGREE_DAYS HEATING TOTAL 1001 1117 -116 1113 SINCE 7/1 4844 4853 -9 4414 COOLING TOTAL 0 0 0 0 SINCE 1/1 0 0 0 0 ................................................................. WIND (MPH) AVERAGE WIND SPEED 10.3 HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 36/260 HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 49/260 DATE 02/12 SKY COVER POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 1 NUMBER OF DAYS PC 14 NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 13 AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 64 WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH THUNDERSTORM 0 MIXED PRECIP 1 HEAVY RAIN 2 RAIN 3 LIGHT RAIN 8 FREEZING RAIN 0 LT FREEZING RAIN 0 HAIL 0 HEAVY SNOW 0 SNOW 6 LIGHT SNOW 13 SLEET 1 FOG 7 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 0 HAZE 11 - 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 ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND BELOW AVERAGE SNOWFALL. ONE RECORD WAS SET...ON THE 11TH A RECORD WARM MINIMUM WAS SET AT 44 DEGREES. A BURST OF SNOW ON THE 20TH PRODUCED 5.3 INCHES OF SNOW... OTHERWISE DAILY SNOWFALLS EQUATED TO THE MANAGEABLE NICKLE AND DIME VARIETY THAT KEPT AREA ROADWAYS SLICK. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 29.0F WAS NEARLY FOUR DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL FOR THE MONTH AND THIS MONTH WAS THE 31ST WARMEST FEBRUARY OF 139 YEARS OF RECORDS. THE HIGHEST TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTH OCCURRED ON THE 27TH WHEN THE MERCURY ROSE TO 57 DEGREES...AHEAD OF A SHARP COLD FRONT THAT DROPPED THE TEMPERATURE TO 22 DEGREES BY MIDNIGHT. THERE WERE FIVE DAYS IN WHICH THE TEMPERATURE REACHED 50 DEGREES OR WARMER. THE COLDEST TEMPERATURE WAS SET ON THE 5TH WHEN THE TEMPERATURE PLUMMETED TO 3 DEGREES. ONLY EIGHT DAYS IN THE MONTH HAD DAILY AVERAGE TEMPERATURES BELOW NORMAL. PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY WAS SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL...WITH 1.63 INCHES FALLING. THE MAIN PRECIPITATION EVENT FOR THE MONTH WAS A SYNOPTIC SYSTEM THAT BROUGHT RAIN CHANGING TO SNOW. THIS EVENT OCCURRED ON THE 11TH AND 12TH (0.56 INCHES AND 0.39 INCHES RESPECTIVELY) AND THE PRECIPITATION THAT FELL BROUGHT ROUGHLY HALF OF THE PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH. TEMPERATURES INCREASED DURING THE SECOND WEEK IN FEBRUARY TOPPING WITH THREE STRAIGHT DAYS OF TEMPERATURES 50F OR HIGHER ON THE 10TH THROUGH 12TH. THIS WARMING TREND LEAD TO SNOWPACK ABLATION. THESE TEMPERATURES COMBINED WITH FALLING RAIN SWELLED SOME AREA CREEKS AND RIVERS TO NEAR OR ABOVE FLOOD STAGE. FEBRUARY'S TOTAL OF 13.9 INCHES OF SNOW WAS JUST OVER EIGHT INCHES SHY OF NORMAL. THE GREATEST DAILY SNOW WAS 5.3 INCHES WHICH OCCURRED ON THE 20TH IN LAKE EFFECT SNOW. THE REMAINDER OF SNOW EVENTS WERE LESS THAN THREE INCHES. THE SNOWPACK THAT BEGAN LATE IN DECEMBER AND HELD STEADY THROUGH JANUARY ERODED DURING THE FIRST WEEK IN FEBRUARY. BY THE 8TH WE WERE DOWN TO JUST AN INCH OF SNOW ON THE GROUND AT THE ROCHESTER AIRPORT. THE SNOW DEPTH REMAINED AN INCH OR LESS FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE MONTH EXCEPT FOR WHEN THE SNOW EVENT ON THE 20TH BROUGHT THE SNOWPACK'S DEPTH TO GREATER THAN AN INCH FOR TWO DAYS. 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. EIGHT OF THE TWENTY EIGHT DAYS IN FEBRUARY HAD 80 PERCENT OR MORE SUNSHINE. LAKE ONTARIO WATER TEMPERATURE FLUCTUATED BETWEEN 34 AND 36 DEGREES FOR THE MONTH. WIND SPEED FOR THE MONTH AVERAGED AROUND 10 AND A HALF MPH....WHICH WAS ABOUT A MILE PER HOUR SLOWER THAN NORMAL. IN SUMMARY THIS FEBRUARY WILL BE NOTED FOR THE BELOW NORMAL SNOWFALL AND THE ABUNDANCE OF FEBRUARY SUNSHINE. && THOMAS &&