OHIO, USA —
Warm is the new normal
Our atmosphere is warming - monthly temperatures running above average is nothing new. This has continued to be the trend for the past decade. The average high for the second month of the year was 45 degrees. That is 6 degrees warmer than normal, which is good enough for a spot in the top 10 warmest February’s in Toledo history.
If you can remember back to the very beginning of the month, it was by far the coldest part of February and one of the coldest weeks of winter. Which isn’t saying much because highs still reached the lower 20s and overnight lows only dropped to the single digits. Since that time, the warmer air has dominated the forecast. The warmest day of the month was Feb. 15 with a high reaching the lower 60s and an overnight low near 40 degrees.
Specifically, this time around it was an active west coast weather pattern which kept the snow to our west and a southwest or west flow overhead. Without many intrusions of cold Canadian air or outbreaks of arctic air available.
2023 starting off warm, too
We’re only two months into 2023 but we’re on a near record pace for warmth so far. We now know that February was the seventh warmest in history, which follows one January that was the eighth warmest.
This all comes on the heels of what was a top 10 warmest year in 2022. There are signs for more cloudy and cooler trending weather into the middle of March but nothing that will cause a significant drop in temperatures.
Where was the snow?
Most noticeable through the month was the lack of snow. February is known for winter wallops, which can drop more than a foot of snow and produce wind chills well below zero. This time around it wasn’t until the last weekend of the month that a light, overnight snow gave us our first measurable snow. Even that snow was less than an inch but did ensure that 2023 wasn’t the first time a February failed to produce measurable snow.
February hasn’t been the only month that has been disappointing to snow lovers. This winter, as a whole, continues to run over 2 feet behind normal for snowfall. March averages around 5 inches of snowfall each year but if no more snow falls, this winter would go down as the least snowy winter in Toledo history. With 10 inches of snow officially reported so far this winter, it is already the slowest start to winter snow since 1983.
