Rain and snow were much more scarce than usual in Iowa over the past month. State climatologist Justin Glisan says it was a far cry from what we usually see during February.
“Typically, we expect about an inch of precipitation across the state. What we had on statewide average was about four-tenths of an inch, so six-tenths of an inch below average,” Glisan says. “The driest part of the state is across the southern part, anywhere from an inch to an inch-and-a-half below normal.”
When it comes to snowfall, this February was way off base with less than four inches statewide. That’s especially paltry when compared to all the snow a year ago.
“Typically, we, across the state, have about seven inches of snow for February, we had about half that,” Glisan says. “Last February, the statewide average was about 26-inches of snow. That was the snowiest February in 133 years of records.”
Temperatures were very near normal for February. The average temp is 24-degrees and the statewide average came in at 24-point-three.
Early indications are the winter overall will produce warmer-than-average temperatures and below-normal precipitation in Iowa.
“We are seeing a higher probability of being warmer than average,” Glisan says. “If we look at the month of March, in general, the outlooks do also show us with higher probabilities of being warmer than average and not a really clear signal precipitation-wise.”
Spring arrives March 19th.
(Reporting by Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City)