was in drought at the beginning of March, up slightly from 45.8% at the beginning of February. Drought Monitor report, 46.6% of the contiguous U.S. In Anchorage, the temperature never rose above 30 degrees F for the entire month, the first month since December 1998 with all daily high temperatures remaining below freezing.ĭrought got a bit worse: According to the U.S. Every county in Texas was under a Winter Storm Warning in mid-February and experienced wind chill values below zero as far south as the Rio Grande River and northeastern Mexico.Īlaska was colder than usual: Alaska saw its coldest February in 22 years. Several locations across central Texas - including Austin and Waco - broke records for the longest streak of below-freezing temperatures. North Dakota had its third-driest winter on record, while Virginia and Delaware had their ninth and 11th-wettest winters, respectively.ĭownload Image More notable climate eventsĪ brutally cold month for Texans: February 2021 brought the coldest air since December 1989 to much of the state. Total precipitation this winter was 6.10 inches - 0.69 of an inch below average - which ranked among the driest one-third of winters in 126 years. Maine had its third-warmest winter California had its 12th warmest. The average temperature was 33.6 degrees F, 1.4 degrees above average, placing Winter 2021 in the warmest third of the winter record. Meteorological winter (December through February) was quite mild and dry across the contiguous U.S. North Carolina saw its eighth-wettest February on record for the month, while South Carolina had its 10th wettest.

Texas had its 11th-coldest February.įebruary’s average precipitation was 1.99 inches (0.14 of an inch below average), which ranked in the middle-third of the historical record.Ībove-average precipitation fell across much of the Northwest, as well as portions of the East Coast and Ohio Valley. For six states - Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma - February 2021 placed among the top 10-coldest Februaries on record. It was also the coldest February since 1989.īelow-average temperatures dominated much of the nation from the Northwest to the Great Lakes and south to the Gulf of Mexico. last month was 30.6 degrees F, 3.2 degrees below the 20th-century average, making it the 19th-coldest February in the 127-year record. The average temperature across the contiguous U.S. climate report: Climate by the numbers February temperatures and precipitation

Here are more highlights from NOAA’s latest monthly U.S. Temperatures plunged to historic lows in some parts of the country last month, including nearly all of Texas, as an Arctic air mass gripped much of the nation.ĭespite the chilly February, winter wrapped up warmer than normal, according to scientists at NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information.

The coldest winter ever audible