PREVIOUS WEATHER REPORTS
February 2023 Weather
Another Warm Winter Month
By Russell Russ
After a warm November and December and the warmest January on record,
it was a shock to have February start out so cold. February’s first week was
considerably colder than normal. Many were thinking that winter might finally
have arrived, but those thoughts were dashed as the month progressed. By
the last week of the month, with warmer temperatures the norm and hardly
any snowfall, most people had given up on winter and were ready for spring.
February is typically a solid winter month in Norfolk, but that was not the case
this year.
The month’s low temperature of minus 17 was observed on February 4. This
was a daily record low for this date and the coldest temperature recorded
since the minus 19 that was recorded on February 14, 2016. It was a one day
cold snap and then temperatures turned warmer for most of the rest of the
month. The month’s high temperature of 57 was observed on February 15.
Two days tied record daily high temperatures. A high of 50 on February 10
tied the 2002 record and a high of 54 on February 17 tied the 2011 record.
The monthly mean temperature was 28.6 degrees. It was 6.4 degrees above
normal and was tied with February 2020 as Norfolk’s seventh warmest
February over the last 92 years. The warmest February on record was in
2002 with 30.7 degrees. The coldest was in 1934 with 9.0 degrees, making
that also the coldest month of any month as recorded at this weather station.
The coldest temperature recorded at this weather station (since January
1932) was minus 26 degrees on February 16, 1943. On that same day, a
temperature of minus 37 was recorded at a satellite valley weather station on
Westside Road.
Total precipitation recorded for the month was 1.70 inches, 1.93 inches below
normal. This February was the driest (and least snowy) right up until the third
week of the month. It ended up being Norfolk’s sixth driest February. A
majority of this month’s precipitation was in the form of rain, freezing rain and
sleet, with a small portion coming as snowfall. Once again, this winter’s
weather patterns were just not forming in a way to produce much snow here
in Norfolk. The record for most February total precipitation is 11.70 inches
from 1981, the least amount is 0.60 inch from 1987.
February’s monthly snowfall total of 9.7 inches was 10.6 inches below
normal. There was no measurable snowfall until February 21 and the month
was ranking as the least snowy February right up until the last day of the
month when Norfolk received 5.9 inches of snow. This February ended up
being Norfolk’s fifteenth least snowy February. Snow on ground depths
ranged from nothing to two inches until the last day of the month when it
peaked at eight inches. The record for most February snowfall is 52.4 inches
from 1969 and the least is 4.8 inches from 1998.
The 2023 calendar year snowfall total through February was 17.7 inches,
23.1 inches below normal. The snowfall total for this winter season (October
through February) was 32.0 inches, 33.1 inches below normal. In recent
years Norfolk has seen several low snowfall winters and this season seems
to be no different. March and April can be snowy in Norfolk, but by late
February most people had given up on winter and were ready for spring.
Could March bring some surprises?
January 2023 Weather
Warmest January on Record
By Russell Russ
The year of 2022 was Norfolk’s eleventh warmest year and November and December
were high-ranking for warmth. Winter season snowfall was considerably below
normal through December. January seemed to take it to another level, coming in as
the warmest January over the last 92 years, while also ranking as the tenth least
snowy January. Over recent years, winter has seemed to wait to arrive until after the
New Year. This year, we all are wondering if it will arrive at all.
January’s average temperature of 32.0 degrees was a whopping 11.1 degrees above
normal, surpassing the previous record of 31.7 from 2002. Jan. 2022’s monthly
average was 17.9 degrees. Quite the difference. Even with the record monthly
warmth, there surprisingly was just one day with a record daily high temperature. A
high of 54 on Jan. 3 just beat the 53 from 1949. The month’s high temperature was 57
on Jan. 4, one degree shy of the 1949 record for that date. The month’s low
temperature of 16 was observed on Jan. 16. Every day this month was above average
for mean temperature. That surely will raise the monthly average mean temperature.
January is supposed to be one of the year’s coldest months and in Norfolk’s past,
there have been many cold ones. Norfolk’s coldest January on record was in 1982
with 11.7 degrees.
January’s total precipitation of 5.68 inches was 1.66 inches above normal. This
January ranked as Norfolk’s fifteenth wettest January. It was a warm and wet month
with numerous days and nights with foggy conditions. Not a typical January by any
means. The wettest January occurred in 1979 with a total of 11.77 inches and the
driest was in 1970 with just 0.74 inch.
The monthly snowfall total of 8.0 inches was 12.5 inches below normal. There was
measurable snow on the ground only from Jan. 24 through the end of the month, but
the greatest depth was four inches and that went down to two inches at month’s end.
The largest storm snowfall total was 4.7 inches, but that occurred over two days and
the maximum depth barely reached four inches – pretty bleak for those who enjoy
playing in the snow and also for those who try to make a living from the snow. The
snowiest January occurred in 1987 with 50.5 inches. Coming in at second snowiest
was Jan. 2011 with 50.0 inches. The least snowy was in 1980 with just 2.6 inches.
Norfolk’s 2022-23 winter season (October-January) snowfall total through January
was just 22.3 inches, 22.5 inches below normal.
If you thought January was strange, then February might even top that. The first week
of the month acted normal, even colder than normal, with a record setting low of
minus 17 on Feb. 4. That was about it for winter until later in the month when
temperatures turned a bit colder and we picked up a quick 1.8 inches of snow on Feb.
21. Through two-thirds of the month, this February was very high-ranking for
warmth, lack of precipitation and lack of snow. March can be cold and snowy here in
Norfolk, but this year, winter just might be over before it starts.
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