Weather Extremes

For the week of Feb. 24 through March 1, there were 118 weather records tied or broken. Many of the high temperature records were observed in the West and Midwest. The Northeast shivered again last week as there were 24 cold weather extremes observed. Thirteen precipitation extremes were reported and 15 snowfall records were noted last week as well.

Record high temperatures were felt acrossTexas on Feb. 25. At Corpus Christi, the mercury soared to 91 degrees. It was 92 degrees at San Antonio. McAllen had a reading of 97 degrees. On the 25th, Del Rio, Texas, sizzled at 99 degrees. Last Tuesday and Wednesday, Southern California observed record highs in the 80s. Santa Ana was 87 degrees Wednesday.

The Midwest observed unusually warm weather on Saturday. North Platte, Neb., had a record high of 77 degrees. It was 80 degrees at McCook, Neb. Normally cool Rapid City, S.D., had a record high of 73 degrees on March 1.

The northeastern U.S., meanwhile, was shivering. On Thursday, Massena, N.Y., plunged to a record minus 21 degrees. It was 12 below zero at Burlington, Vt., and minus 18 degrees at Vermont’s state capital, Montpelier. Northern Florida felt some of the chilly weather as Gainesville reported 31 degrees on Friday. Record lows were also reported in Hawaii. At Kahului, morning lows of 54 degrees were observed on the Tuesday and Wednesday, pleasant temperatures for most of us, but very chilly for those residing on the island.

Snowfall records were observed across many northern states last week. On the 25th, Boulder, Mont., had 3.5 inches of snow. Caribou, Maine, measured 6 inches of snow on Wednesday.

During the meteorological winter season of December, January and February, many stations from North Idaho, the Upper Midwest and the Northeast reported the snowiest, and in some cases, the coldest winter seasons in recorded history.