February 2004 National Climate Report

• Temperatures were near average for the nation as a whole with cooler than average conditions across much of the South and warmth across the northern states.
  
  
• The precipitation signal was mixed across the country with drier than average conditions in the Northeast while wetter than average conditions prevailed across much of the West and Midwest.
  
  Winter (December 2003-February 2004):
  
  
• Temperatures across the nation were near average for winter with persistently warmer than normal conditions across western states and cooler than average temperatures east of the Mississippi.
  
• Precipitation was variable across the country with dryness in the Southeast and far Northeast and generally average or above average precipitation elsewhere.
  
  Snowfall was heavy in areas of the Plains, far West and the Southeast in February with less than average snowfall in the Northeast. Details of the 2003/2004 snow season can be found on NCDC's monthly snow summary page, available on March 12th.
  
  Indices used to determine the state of ENSO suggest that the Equatorial Pacific was in a neutral ENSO phase and Sea Surface Temperatures were near normal across the equatorial Pacific during February. To see the latest NOAA advisory and typical impacts of a La Nina or El Nino episode for the U.S., go to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center.
  
  For additional details, see the Monthly Highlights section. For details and graphics on weather events across the U.S. and the globe go to NCDC's Global Hazards page.

• February 2004 ranked as the 50th coldest February in the 1895 to present record, which is near average for the nation. The preliminary nationally averaged temperature was 34.3°F (1.3°C), which was 0.3°F (0.2°C) below the long-term mean.
• February 2004 was wetter than average for precipitation nationally, ranking 22nd wettest.
  
  For tables of national, regional, statewide and selected city data from 1895-present, for February, last 3 months or other periods, please go to the Climate At A Glance page
  
  
• December 2003-February 2004 temperature was near average and ranked as the 42nd warmest such period in the 1895 to present record. The preliminary nationally averaged temperature for December-February was 33.7°F (0.9°C) which was 0.7°F (0.4°C) above the long-term mean.
• December 2003-February 2004 was near average for precipitation, ranking 62nd driest in the last 109 years.
  
  
• March 2003-February 2004 ranked as the 13th warmest such period in the 1895 to present record. The preliminary nationally averaged temperature was 53.7°F (12.1°C) which was 0.9°F (0.5°C) above the long-term mean.
• Precipitation was above average for March-February leading to a rank of 29th wettest for the last 12 months based on a record of 109 such periods.
  
  Regional and Statewide:
  
  
• February 2004 temperatures ranked below average for 10 southern states and warmer than average for 12 northern states.
• Alaska temperatures will be available on March 12th
• February was much drier than average for four northeastern states (ME, NH, VT, NY).
• The 3 month period, December-February, was warmer than average for parts of the Midwest and High Plains. Only the Southeast region averaged significantly cooler than the long term mean.
• December-February 2004 was dry for parts of the Southeast and wet for nine states across the country
• The last 12 months were much warmer than average for Only two states averaged significantly cooler than the long-term mean.
• The last 12 months were record wet for Dry conditons prevailed across parts of the Midwest and New Mexico had its 7th driest such 12 months on record.

See NCDC's Monthly Extremes web-page for weather and climate records for the month of February.

An in-depth annual review of U.S. climate in 2003 is available at: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/national/2003/ann