MONTHLY WEATHER DATA AND OBS - LAVALE MD FEBRUARY 2010 OBSERVER SCOTT LOHR DATA COMPILED AND PUBLISHED BY NATE MULLINS Special Observations: F=fog, T=thunder, H=hail, S=sleet, G=glaze, DW=damaging winds Observation time for this station is midnight. Temperature, °F Precipitation, In. Liquid Solid 7am DAY 24-hour Rain Snow/ Snow Special WEATHER Date Max Min Equiv Ice Depth Obs. SUMMARY 1 36 19 2 Partly sunny 2 31 22 .07 1.0 2 Mostly cloudy, light snow this evening 1" 3 36 29 3 Partly to mostly cloudy 4 40 31 2 Partly cloudy 5 31 29 1.09 13.0 1 Snow began at 9:15am, became very heavy during the evening 6 29 20 1.34 13.5 27 Snow ended around noon, heavy early, storm total 26.5" 7 31 7 26 Mostly sunny, cold AM 8 31 14 24 Partly cloudy 9 28 14 .55 7.0 22 Cloudy, snow developing and becoming steady all day 7" 10 23 17 .09 2.0 30 Light snow overnight, snow showers & windy (30 mph gusts) 11 30 22 30 Partly sunny, very windy 12 34 22 29 Mostly sunny, becoming mostly cloudy 13 31 21 T 0.2 27 Partly to mostly cloudy, brief PM snow squall, breezy 14 31 21 25 Partly to mostly cloudy 15 28 9 .22 4.0 24 Mostly cloudy with snow developing again 4" 16 31 19 T T 27 Mostly cloudy, scattered flurries, breezy 17 32 27 .01 0.3 26 Mostly cloudy, flurries, breezy 18 35 28 T T 24 Partly sunny 19 39 27 22 Partly cloudy, windy (W gusts to 35 mph) 20 42 24 21 Partly cloudy 21 47 26 18 Partly to mostly cloudy, milder 22 38 31 .09 T 16 F,S Cloudy with drizzle, fog, scattered fine ice pellets 23 40 32 14 Mostly to partly cloudy 24 40 31 12 Partly cloudy, gusty winds shifting from SE to NW 25 36 29 T T 10 Partly to mostly cloudy, strong NW winds especially late 26 33 23 .04 1.0 10 DW Very windy, light snow showers, 56 mph gust at Frostburg 27 36 27 .01 0.5 11 Flurries ended overnight, mostly cloudy, breezy (NW winds) 28 38 32 T T 10 Mostly cloudy, continued breezy with winds from NW AVG/SUM 34.2 23.3 3.51 42.5 17.7 <--mean EXT 47 7 1.34 13.5 30 Date 21 7 6 6 11* *=Also occurred on earlier dates Miscellaneous Stats Mean Monthly Temperature: 28.8 F (-3.6 °F) Monthly Precipitation Departure: +0.80" Year precipitation to date: 6.33" (+0.76) Season snowfall to date: 78.0" (3rd snowiest thus far!) Number of days with: Fog 1 Sleet 1 Damaging Winds 1 NOTES/SIGNIFICANT EVENTS 2: Light PM snows. Only 1" here with the heaviest again tracking slightly S & E as with the Jan. 30 storm. 5-6: TREMENDOUS SNOW STORM. Snow began at 9:15 am on the 5th and was light most of the day, then became very heavy during the mid-late evening hours with rates 2-3" per hour. 13.0" snow and 1.09" of precip both set daily records. Another 13.5" snow on the 6th and 1.34" of melted precip again set daily records. Total snow of 26.5" is the 3rd greatest storm ever and all came within 27 hours - 25" fell from 9:15 am on the 5th to 7 am on the 6th, a new 24-hour record. Also 2.43" of precipitation fell, most of that again in less than 24 hours ending at 7am on the 6th, which would be a February record had the midnight observation time not essentially split this storm's snow and precip totals in half. However, this is this first time ever with back-to-back days over 1 foot of snow and first time in Feb. with back-to-back 1+" precip days. Very impressive storm with over 3 feet at some higher elevations and again at some localized regions to our east in central/eastern MD. This storm paralyzed the entire region for days. 7: Cold low 7 F, rebounded to a high of 31 F. 9-10: Another major snow storm approaches the area. Steady snows totaling 9" with higher amounts again in the mountains to our W and to our east, with some areas of central/northern MD reporting over 2 feet. Already 36.5" of monthly snow ties the 2003 record for February. 35.5" of snow in the past week from these back-to-back Nor' Easters. Some parts of the state have had over 5 feet of snow, incredible! The 7" on the 9th and 2" on the 10th both set daily snowfall records (which commenced in 1948). 11: Very windy, blustery & cold 15: Record low 9 F tied this morning (previous record of 9 set in 1969). Steady snow developed and was light and fluffy with 4" of snowfall and 0.22" melted precip. 4" of snow sets yet another daily snow record. 19: West wind gusts to 35 mph. 20-21: Milder with highs in the 40s. 22: Drizzle & fog. Only precipitation event this month that did not fall as snow, albeit a light one. 24: Gusty winds shifting 180° from the SE early to the NW late. 25-26: Very windy with some damage reported throughout the area as the 3rd Nor' Easter of the month this time misses most of the state with only a dusting to a few inches in most areas, while record snows fell further north & east over eastern PA, NJ, NY & New England. Very heavy snows also fell in the mountains just to our N & W with 2 feet plus in some areas on the strong NW winds off the lakes. Wind early on the 26th was clocked at 56 mph in Frostburg and 45 mph in Cumberland. Scattered tree and power line damage throughout the area. Also much blowing/drifting snow, especially higher elevations. MONTHLY SUMMARY February 2010 heads straight for the record books as the snowiest February and month ever with a whopping 42.5" of snowfall. The previous February record was 36.5" in 2003, and the previous monthly record was 41.7" in January, 1996. Three Nor' Easters pummeled the Mid-Atlantic this month, bringing record snowfall to much of the state. Some areas had two to three SEASONS worth of snowfall within a week from the back-to-back Nor' Easters on the 5th-6th and again on the 9th-10th. The first storm was by far the greatest in Allegany Co., with a whopping 26.5" of snow in just under 27 hours, the 3rd greatest snow storm in recent history. Over 2/3 of the month's precip (2.43" total) also fell from this storm. 16" of snow fell in 6 hours late on the 5th and early on the 6th - the only other storm with such intense sustained snowfall rates, near 3"/hour, was the record-setting blizzard of Jan. 6-8, 1996, when 30" snow fell, 5" in 1 hour. The 2nd heaviest snow was 7 years ago, 28" on Feb. 15-17, 2003. 5 daily snowfall records (5th, 6th, 9th, 10th & 15th) were set this month. Also, an average of 17.7" of snow was on the ground this month, which likely sets a record as well. Along with the snow came persistent cold temperatures and strong winds. Most days were in the 20s and 30s. One record low (15th, 9 F) was tied. The average high temperature for February is 41.8 F...26 of 28 days were below this average! In fact, the mean monthly max of 34.2 F just beats out the very cold Feb. 2007 for 4th coldest on February record. There was a notable lack of extremes - the monthly extreme max of 47 F ties 1978 for the lowest extreme February monthly max temperature. The month's low was a chilly, but modest, 7 F. Like January, the average low temperatures were near normal - the subnormal temperatures owed entirely to subnormal high temperatures. With this said, all 28 days in February had sub-freezing low temperatures. All three winter months had significantly below normal temperatures (this also happened in '02-'03 and '03-'04). While it wasn't the coldest winter on record, the mean winter max temperature of 34.9 F ranks 4th coldest. ADDITIONAL NOTES/RECORDS: 5: Daily precipitation record 1.09" and daily snowfall record 13.0" 6: Daily precipitation record 1.34" and daily snowfall record 13.5". Storm total 26.5" is the 3rd greatest total snowfall from any storm in recent history (records began in 1948). Both daily precip records of 1.00" had been set in 2004. 9: Record daily snowfall 7.0" 10: Record daily snowfall 2.0". 30" of snow on ground Feb. 10-11 is also a new February record. 15: Record low 9 F tied with 1969. 15: Daily record snowfall again 4.0", the 5th daily record snowfall this month (also a record). This was the SNOWIEST February on record with 42.5", beating out 2003's hefty mark of 36.5". This was also the SNOWIEST MONTH EVER. 42.5" beats the previous record of 41.7" in January, 1996. The mean monthly max temperature of 34.2 F is also the 4th coldest on record for February. Likewise, the mean winter 2009-2010 max temperature of 34.9 F is the 4th coldest on record. Winter 2002-2003 was the 3rd coldest at 34.6 F. Winters 1957-1958 (33.1 F) and 1958-1959 (35.1 F) had the coldest max temps. The Winter season (Dec-Jan-Feb) of 2009-2010 was the SNOWIEST EVER with 78.0" of snowfall. The cold/snow season total at the end of February is also 78.0", already 3rd snowiest ever. The Winter season 2009-2010 also ranked as the 5th "wettest" winter with 12.64" of precipitation.