|
|
|
As noted by USDA Agricultural Meteorologist Brad Rippey:
West Virginia Climate Summary, February 2003
In a dramatic change from January, stormy weather made headlines across
the Mountain State in February. Clarksburg's monthly snowfall,
37.9 inches, easily surpassed the February 1979 record of 25.0 inches
and ended just short of its snowiest month on record (39.3 inches in
November 1950). Elsewhere, Parkersburg tied its third-snowiest February
(19.4 inches in 1979) behind 25.7 inches in 1894 and 23.4 inches in 1914.
Elkins tied its second-snowiest February (29.5 inches in 1964), behind
only 32.0 inches in 1986. A co-operative observer near Davis, above
Canaan Valley, measured more than 76 inches of snow for the month,
boosting his season-to-date total through February 28 to 217.3 inches.
A significant portion of the snow fell from February 14-17, during an
historic Valentine's Day-to-Presidents' Day storm. Just a week later
(February 21-23), heavy rain and even some locally severe thunderstorms
swept across the central Appalachians, triggering some small-stream and
river flooding. Additional precipitation fell toward month's end.
With some stations' February precipitation totals among the highest on
record, drought was certainly not a concern in West Virginia. In fact,
the Ohio River rose to within 1.2 feet of flood stage on February 25 in
Huntington, West Virginia, and 0.4 foot in Ashland, Kentucky.
Charleston's monthly precipitation, 7.46 inches, was second only to the
8.10-inch total in February 1887. Elsewhere, Huntington had its
sixth-wettest February with 5.77 inches, while Beckley experienced its
fifth-wettest February with 5.35 inches.
West Virginia temperatures were below normal during February, but did
not approach record levels. Most locations reported average temperatures
in the range of 3 to 6 degrees F below normal.
Preliminary Station Data, February 2003*
Temperatures (oF), Precipitation (Inches), and Departures from Normal
Station Avg Dep Pcpn Dep % of Nml Snowfall
Beckley 30.9 -3.0 5.35 +2.39 181 n/a
Bluefield 31.2 -4.9 6.17 +3.26 212 n/a
Charleston 33.9 -3.0 7.46 +4.27 234 n/a
Elkins 28.9 -2.7 4.43 +1.23 138 29.5
Huntington 33.4 -3.4 5.77 +2.68 187 n/a
Martinsburg 29.2 -6.1 4.49 +2.09 187 n/a
Parkersburg 29.9 -4.5 3.33 +0.56 120 19.4
Nearby Stns Avg Dep Pcpn Dep % of Nml Snowfall
Pittsburgh, PA 26.5 -4.0 2.86 +0.49 121 25.3
Blacksburg, VA 32.4 -1.1 6.30 +3.28 209 9.6
Jackson, KY 33.9 -4.0 7.89 +4.21 214 10.5
* Preliminary station data provided by National Weather Service offices
in Blacksburg, VA, Charleston, WV, Pittsburgh, PA, Sterling, VA, and
Jackson, KY.
|
NCDC /
Clim. Monitoring /
Climate-2003 /
Feb /
U.S. Regional Drought /
Search /
Help