February Temperature Outlook In VA Looks Nothing Like 1985 Record

VIRGINIA — February temperatures in Virginia should be near normal for most of the state, and above normal in the narrow area furthest north, according to an updated outlook from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center.

Overall, the temperature outlook for the last month of meteorological winter favors well-above normal temperatures in the northern half of the nation, and near-average temperatures in parts of the Southwest and Southeast, according to the forecast.

Precipitation, whether as rain or snow, looks to be above average across large parts of the southern, central and southeastern parts of the country, but well below average in the Pacific Northwest and around the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley and in the Northeast, according to the outlook.

In the Commonwealth, temperatures are expected to be near normal this month, while precipitation amounts should be normal, NOAA predicts.

So far this month, Northern Virginia has seen temperatures ranging from the 60s to highs in the 40s, with below freezing low temperatures expected the next two nights. The seven-day forecast calls for highs climbing from the 40s on Wednesday to 60 degrees by Saturday, then dropping back to 52 on Monday. Skies will be mostly clear this week, with rain chances returning Sunday night and Monday, the National Weather Service said.

Historically, February can bring some of the coldest temperatures of winter. In Virginia, the coldest day on record was Jan. 21, 1985, when the thermometer registered 30 degrees below zero Fahrenheit at Mountain Lake Biological Station.

February 2023 was the third-warmest on record nationwide since record keeping began in 1895, according to another Climate Prediction Center report. In Virginia, temperatures last year were ranked the second-warmest on record, while 21 additional states ranked among their top-10 warmest winter seasons on record.

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