NATIONAL STORM SUMMARY

FEBRUARY 2025

2-8: Locally heavy precipitation fell in the central Appalachians and neighboring areas, with some locations receiving more than 2 inches. Mostly dry weather covered the remainder of the country, including the central and southern Plains and the Deep South. Showers dotted coastal southern California, which awaited consistent precipitation in the wake of catastrophic January wildfires.

Along the Gulf Coast, temperatures broadly topped 80°F, less than 3 weeks after a record-shattering snowfall. New Orleans, LA, which had received 8.0 inches of snow on January 21, notched daily-record highs of 82 and 85°F, respectively, on February 6 and 8. Other daily-record highs on February 8 in the Gulf Coast States included 89°F in College Station, TX, and 88°F in Shreveport, LA. As February began, moisture surged inland across northern California and the Northwest. With a 4.33-inch total on the 2nd, Redding, CA, experienced its wettest February day and sixth wettest calendar day. Previously, Redding’s wettest February day had been February 20, 1914, when 4.10 inches fell. Elsewhere on February 2, daily-record totals included 2.13 inches in Alturas, CA, and 0.58 inch in Burns, OR. Normally arid Burns received precipitation totaling 2.05 inches during the first 7 days of February, while Alturas collected 4.17 inches and Redding netted 8.85 inches. Meanwhile in Montana, Billings measured 16.4 inches of snow during the first 7 days of the month, with the bulk of the precipitation falling on February 2, 3, and 7. Billings tallied daily-record snowfall amounts on each of those days—3.8, 5.1, and 6.8 inches, respectively. Heavy snow also affected portions of the Great Lakes region, with Houghton Lake, MI, receiving a daily-record sum (5.4 inches) on February 3. Houghton Lake tallied another record-setting snowfall total on February 8, with 7.7 inches. In Wisconsin, record-setting snowfall totals for February 8 included 9.5 inches in Wausau and 7.0 inches in Green Bay. Farther south, rain—or rain mixed with wintry precipitation—was heaviest in the central Appalachians and environs. In West Virginia, daily-record precipitation totals reached 2.01 inches (on February 6) in Huntington, and 1.63 inches (on February 8) in Beckley.

9-15: Multiple rounds of heavy precipitation struck the Southeast, saturating soils and culminating in late week flooding. Some of the worst flooding struck Kentucky, where at least a dozen fatalities were reported, although high water levels—triggered by 4- to 8-inch rainfall totals—extended to many other states. Prior to the final Southeastern deluge, which peaked on February 15, precipitation had fallen as rain, freezing rain, sleet, and snow. In fact, significant snow occurred on February 11-12 in parts of the central Appalachians and middle Atlantic States, followed by additional accumulations on February 12-13 from the central Plains into the Midwest and Northeast. By the morning of February 13, snow covered nearly 51 percent of the Lower 48 States, up from 23 percent early in the month. Meanwhile, southern California’s strongest storm of the season delivered drought-easing precipitation— but also led to some flash flooding and debris flows, especially on burn-scarred hillsides. Impacts from the Western storm, which produced much of its heaviest precipitation on February 13 14, extended to other areas. Indeed, storm-related moisture interacting with lingering cold air in the Pacific Northwest led to a low-elevation snow event, with 3.0 inches falling in Portland, OR.

Many other areas of the Plains and western Corn Belt fared better with mid February snowfall. In fact, Nebraska locations such as Lincoln (3.2 inches) and Omaha (4.7 inches) received more snow from February 11-15 than during the entire season to date, as both cities had measured exactly 1.0 inch through February 10. Des Moines, IA, reported 4.7 inches for the season to date through February 10, followed by 6.4 inches on February 11-12. Soon, heavy snow clipped northern New England, with Caribou, ME, collected a daily-record total of 10.9 inches on February 13. Additional Midwestern snow fell on February 15, with daily-record totals reaching 3.6 inches in Waterloo, IA, and 3.0 inches in Norfolk, NE. Earlier, wintry precipitation had fallen in the central Appalachians and middle Atlantic States, with Salisbury, MD, netting a daily-record snowfall (6.5 inches) for February 11. Meanwhile, heavy rain drenched parts of the South, starting on February 11. On that date, record setting amounts included 3.30 inches in Austin, TX, and 2.05 inches in Huntsville, AL. Additional daily-record totals were reported on February 12, with amounts reaching 4.18 inches in Lufkin, TX, and 2.82 inches in Anniston, AL. Farther west, a powerful Pacific storm moving ashore in California dumped heavy precipitation. On the 13th, Bishop, CA, measured precipitation totaling 2.23 inches—including an inch of snow—marking the wettest February day in that location since February 24, 1969, when 3.50 inches fell. Daily record totals in California for February 13 included 2.80 inches in downtown Los Angeles, 1.83 inches in Salinas, and 1.12 inches in Fresno. Prior to this event, precipitation since October 1, 2024, had totaled 0.98 inch in Bishop and 2.65 inches in downtown Los Angeles. The average water equivalency of the Sierra Nevada snowpack climbed to 19 inches (nearly normal) by mid February, up from 11 inches (about two-thirds of normal) at the beginning of the month. Toward week’s end, the former Pacific storm system unleashed heavy rain across the interior Southeast. In Kentucky, record-setting rainfall totals for February 15 reached 4.54 inches in Paducah, 4.23 inches in Bowling Green, and 3.20 inches in London. Paducah’s total represented the wettest February day in that location since February 13, 1989, when 6.24 inches fell. The South Fork of the Kentucky River at Booneville, KY, crested 15.76 feet above flood stage on February 16, behind only 17.33 feet on March 1, 2021, and 16.40 feet on January 30, 1957. Elsewhere, record-setting rainfall amounts for February 15 totaled 3.62 inches in Jonesboro, AR; 3.23 inches in Poplar Bluff, MO; 3.07 inches in Evansville, IN; 2.67 inches in Roanoke, VA; and 2.31 inches in Beckley, WV.

Feb. 23-Mar. 1: Significant precipitation overspread the Northwest early in the week, with record-setting totals for February 23 reaching 1.13 inches in Pullman, WA, and 1.04 inches in Salem, OR. Meanwhile, a disturbance crossing the Deep South delivered 1.33 inches, a record for February 23, in Vicksburg, MS. Rain soaked much of Florida’s peninsula on February 24, when daily-record totals included 3.61 inches in Vero Beach; 3.45 inches in Key West; and 2.01 inches in Saint Petersburg. For Vero Beach, it was the wettest February day on record, surpassing 2.65 inches on February 23, 1966. In contrast, winter (December-February) precipitation totaled less than one quarter inch in locations such as Garden City, KS (0.05 inch, or 4 percent of normal); Dalhart, TX (0.07 inch, or 5 percent); Lubbock, TX (0.15 inch, or 7 percent); and Guymon, OK (0.23 inch, or 16 percent). Late in the week, snow briefly fell from the upper Great Lakes region into northern New England. Marquette, MI, measured 8.4 inches of snow, a record for February 28.

Jim G. Munley, jr.
http://www.jimmunleywx.com