National Weather Service National Headquarters

• Home
• Site Map
• News
• Organization
• Search for: NWS All NOAA 

000
CXUS51 KBUF 011934
CLMBUF


CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BUFFALO NY
231 PM EST FRI MAR 1 2013

...................................

...THE BUFFALO NY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY 2013...

CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1981 TO 2010
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1871 TO 2013

WEATHER         OBSERVED          NORMAL  DEPART  LAST YEAR`S
                 VALUE   DATE(S)  VALUE   FROM    VALUE  DATE(S)
                                          NORMAL
................................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
RECORD
 HIGH              71   02/26/2000
 LOW              -21   02/09/1934
HIGHEST            49   02/11                         54  02/01
LOWEST              7   02/10                         10  02/11
AVG. MAXIMUM     31.7              33.3    -1.6     36.8
AVG. MINIMUM     20.4              19.2     1.2     26.7
MEAN             26.0              26.3    -0.3     31.7
DAYS MAX >= 90      0               0.0     0.0        0
DAYS MAX <= 32     13              13.6    -0.6        5
DAYS MIN <= 32     27              25.3     1.7       27
DAYS MIN <= 0       0               0.6    -0.6        0

PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
RECORD
 MAXIMUM         5.90   1990
 MINIMUM         0.46   1877
TOTALS           3.05              2.49    0.56     1.72
DAYS >= .01        15                                 14
DAYS >= .10         8                                  7
DAYS >= .50         2                                  0
DAYS >= 1.00        0                                  0
GREATEST
 24 HR. TOTAL    1.22   02/26 TO 02/27

SNOWFALL (INCHES)
RECORDS
 TOTAL           54.2   1958
TOTALS           20.5              17.3     3.2      9.6
SINCE 7/1        48.7              78.8   -30.1
SNOWDEPTH AVG.      2                 4      -2        0
DAYS >= 1.0         3               5.3    -2.3        2
GREATEST
 SNOW DEPTH         8   02/09                          3  02/23
                                                          02/12
 24 HR TOTAL      7.8   02/02

DEGREE_DAYS
HEATING TOTAL    1082              1085      -3      958
 SINCE 7/1       4320              4744    -424     3953
COOLING TOTAL       0                 0       0        0
 SINCE 1/1          0                 0       0        0
...................................................

WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED              10.8
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION    39/260
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION    56/260    DATE  02/11

SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT)   29
NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR            0
NUMBER OF DAYS PC              6
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY         22

AVERAGE RH (PERCENT)     73

WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORM              0     MIXED PRECIP               1
HEAVY RAIN                2     RAIN                       6
LIGHT RAIN                7     FREEZING RAIN              0
LT FREEZING RAIN          0     HAIL                       0
HEAVY SNOW                3     SNOW                       7
LIGHT SNOW               26     SLEET                      2
FOG                      17     FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE      3
HAZE                      5

-  INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
R  INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.
MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.
T  INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.

&&

...MODERATE SWINGS IN FEBRUARY...

A TYPICAL FEBRUARY PREVAILED TO CLOSE THE METEOROLOGICAL WINTER WITH
NO EXTREMES IN TEMPERATURE. LAKE EFFECT SNOW WAS COMMON TO BEGIN THE
MONTH...AND A SLOW MOVING SYNOPTIC SYSTEM BROUGHT RAIN AND THEN SNOW
TOWARDS THE END OF THE MONTH. IN ALL TEMPERATURES...PRECIPITATION
INCLUDING SNOW ALL AVERAGED AROUND MONTHLY NORMALS.

THERE WERE NO MAJOR TEMPERATURE SWINGS THIS MONTH AND NO RECORD
EXTREMES. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 26.0F WAS JUST A FRACTION BELOW
THE NORMAL OF 26.3F. THE WARMEST DAY THIS MONTH WAS ON THE 11TH WHEN
THE MERCURY REACHED 49F. THE COOLEST DAY OCCURRED ONE DAY EARLIER
WITH 7F FOR THE MINIMUM TEMPERATURE.

PRECIPITATION FOR THE MONTH FINISHED AT 3.05 INCHES...ABOUT HALF AN
INCH GREATER THAN NORMAL. THERE WERE NO DAYS THIS MONTH
PRECIPITATION FREE THOUGH MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION ONLY OUT NUMBERED
TRACES BY 2 DAYS. OF THESE 15 DAYS OF MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION THERE
WAS ONE DAILY RECORD...WITH THE 0.89 INCHES OF COLD RAIN ON THE 26TH
SETTING A NEW MARK. MUCH OF THE SNOW FELL PRIMARILY THE FIRST 10
DAYS OF THE MONTH WHICH LEAD TO A MONTHLY TOTAL OF 20.5 INCHES. THE
7.8 INCHES ON THE 2ND SET A NEW DAILY RECORD. THE MONTHLY SNOWFALL
FINISHED ABOUT 3 INCHES ABOVE NORMAL.

THE FIRST 10 DAYS OF FEBRUARY BROUGHT SEVERAL LAKE EFFECT SNOW BANDS
ACROSS METRO BUFFALO. THE FIRST EVENT WAS A LITTLE UNUSUAL IN THAT
THE GREATEST SNOW TOTALS AROUND BUFFALO ACTUALLY FELL TO THE NORTH
OF THE CITY...ACROSS GRAND ISLAND AND INTO SOUTHERN NIAGARA COUNTY.
A SYNOPTIC LOW BROUGHT GENERAL SNOW ACROSS THE AREA SUNDAY EVENING
THE 3RD THAT WAS AGAIN FOLLOWED BY LAKE EFFECT SNOW...THIS TIME
ACROSS TYPICAL AREAS SOUTH OF BUFFALO. ANOTHER UPPER LEVEL SYNOPTIC
LOW BROUGHT WIDESPREAD SNOW ACROSS WESTERN NEW YORK THROUGH FRIDAY
AND FRIDAY NIGHT ON THE 8TH. AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT TEMPERATURES
SOARED INTO THE UPPER 40S ON MONDAY THE 11TH...FOLLOWED BY GUSTY
WINDS OVER 50 MPH THROUGH THE EVENING AND OVERNIGHT HOURS. ANOTHER
THAW AND GUSTY WIND EVENT CAME A WEEK LATER ON THE 19TH THOUGH NOT
AS DRAMATIC. THE LAST WEEK OF THE MONTH A SLOW MOVING SYNOPTIC LOW
BROUGHT HEAVY RAIN INTO THE BUFFALO METRO AREA ON THE EVENING OF THE
26TH...THAT CHANGED TO A MIX OF LIGHT RAIN AND SNOW TO CLOSE THE
MONTH.

SUNSHINE FOR THE MONTH FINISHED 9 PERCENT BELOW THE NORMAL OF 38
PERCENT. THERE WERE 3 MOSTLY SUNNY DAYS...OTHERWISE THE REMAINDER OF
THE MONTH WAS CLOUDY OR PARTLY SUNNY. LAKE ERIE WATER TEMPERATURE
DROPPED TO 32F ON THE 2ND OF THE MONTH WITH LAKE ICE REMAINING ON
THE EASTERN END OF THE LAKE NEAR BUFFALO THROUGH THE MONTH.

IN ALL THIS WAS A TYPICAL FEBRUARY WITH NEAR NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND
PRECIPITATION THAT FINISHED JUST ABOVE NORMAL AND WAS BOTH THE
LAKE EFFECT AND SYNOPTIC VARIETY.


...WINTER (DEC-FEB) 2012-13

AFTER THE EXTREME WINTER OF LAST YEAR THIS WINTER FOR WESTERN NEW
YORK WILL COMPARE CLOSER TO NORMAL...THOUGH TEMPERATURES WERE STILL
ABOVE NORMAL...AND SNOWFALL WELL BELOW NORMAL. TEMPERATURES AVERAGED
MORE THAN 5 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL FOR THE MONTHS OF DECEMBER AND
JANUARY...VERY SIMILAR TO THE PREVIOUS WINTER. HOWEVER FEBRUARY
RETURNED CLOSER TO A TRUE WINTER WITH TEMPERATURES THAT AVERAGE NEAR
NORMAL AND SNOWFALL AVERAGING JUST ABOVE MONTHLY NORMAL. THE BULK OF
THE SEASONS SNOWFALL CAME DURING THE LAST 10 DAYS OF DECEMBER AND
THE FIRST 10 DAYS OF FEBRUARY.

THERE WERE TWO NOTABLE SYNOPTIC SNOW EVENTS THIS WINTER. THE FIRST
CAME THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS WITH CLOSE TO A FOOT OF SNOW FALLING
ACROSS WESTERN NEW YORK. THE MONTH OF JANUARY FINISHED WITH VERY
LITTLE SNOWFALL...AFTER WHICH ANOTHER SYNOPTIC EVENT BROUGHT HALF A
FOOT OF SNOW TO THE BUFFALO AREA ON FEBRUARY 8TH. THERE WERE NO
MAJOR LAKE EFFECT SNOW EVENTS NEAR THE BUFFALO METRO AREA THIS
WINTER...THOUGH SEVERAL LAKE EVENTS OF A COUPLE FEET DID FALL WELL
SOUTH OF BUFFALO.

HERE ARE SOME STATISTICS FOR THE 3 MONTH WINTER PERIOD FOR BUFFALO...
(NORMALS)

TEMPERATURE.... 30.8 (27.1) **15TH WARMEST**
PRECIPITATION.. 9.19 (9.56)
SNOWFALL....... 46.3 (70.0)



&&

THOMAS

$$