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February may turn very cold as La Nina finally makes an
appearance
Practice makes perfect and so does patience it seems. After months of waiting for the La Nina effect to arrive and cool things down, it finally happened in January. The Polar Vortex came crashing down and led to measurable snow in New Orleans and central Florida.
That, of course, was on the heels of a Superior El Nino start to 2024 that turned that year into a record for warmth. NWS Duluth stats have been calculated and the previous year was 4 degrees warmer than normal mean. For comparison, 2023 was 1.9 degrees warmer than normal. 2022 was 1.9 degrees cooler than normal. 2021 was 2.5 degrees warmer than normal. 2020 was 0.6 degree warmer than mean so that is considered normal. In the past five years, we have three warmer than normal, one cooler than normal and one that was normal.
This February, we are expected to be cooler than normal as La Nina continues to shift the Polar Jetstream into a pattern that will support continued cold. The average may turn out to be three degrees cooler than normal mean. Unfortunately for sled heads, skiers and the like, we may only get five of the normal ten inches of snow that is common in February.
February 1 to 5 should be cold but snowy, another arctic outbreak is possible from the 6th to 11th along with just a little snow, cold with light flurries are possible the 12th to 14th. The 17th to 28th should be bitterly cold which will continue to hamper snowfall.
Of course, March will kick in the door afterward and that month is statistically our snowiest so snow fans may be able to salvage the season then.
