February 2026 OBS & Discussion

[eduggs]

2 minutes ago, NorthShoreWx said:

March snow has never been long lasting.  If snow is lasting on the ground through roughly mid-March, it is generally because it has built up over the winter.

2018 a wee bit of an exception.  Here is my record:

Great table. Perfectly illustrates March outside the hill country. 4 major snow events got obliterated within days in an exceptionally snowy March. I'm sure it was a lot of fun while the snow was falling. But the vibe is very different in March than it is in early February.

[CPcantmeasuresnow]

7 minutes ago, NorthShoreWx said:

March snow has never been long lasting.  If snow is lasting on the ground through roughly mid-March, it is generally because it has built up over the winter.

2018 a wee bit of an exception.  Despite the snowfall, it wasn't especially cold. Here is my record:

 

YYYY	MM	DD	Low	High	Precip	Snowfall	Snow Depth
2018	3	1	38	62
2018	3	2	35	42	1.8	0.1
2018	3	3	35	46	1.23	0.0005
2018	3	4	33	44		0.0005
2018	3	5	32	39	0.0005	0.0005
2018	3	6	29	48		0.0005
2018	3	7	32	36	0.07	8.4
2018	3	8	30	46	1.21	0.7	7
2018	3	9	28	42		0.0005	5
2018	3	10	28	42			4
2018	3	11	28	47			2
2018	3	12	30	43		0.0005	1
2018	3	13	32	39	0.2	5.7	2
2018	3	14	29	44	0.6	0.3	3
2018	3	15	30	49		0.0005	2
2018	3	16	28	40			1
2018	3	17	26	47			T
2018	3	18	26	40			T
2018	3	19	25	44			T
2018	3	20	28	37		0.0005	T
2018	3	21	31	37	0.01	9.1	T
2018	3	22	31	49	1.44	4.5	13
2018	3	23	33	51			7
2018	3	24	33	49			4
2018	3	25	30	43		0.0005	1
2018	3	26	27	48			T
2018	3	27	26	45			T
2018	3	28	37	53			T
2018	3	29	44	52			T
2018	3	30	44	60	0.02
2018	3	31	39	60
2018	4	1	41	62	0.05
2018	4	2	29	42	0.4	6.1	6
2018	4	3	27	43	0.12		2
2018	4	4	40	55	0.23		T

 

 

March is usually two distinct periods. The first two weeks in March in a typical winter you can usually expect to still have snow on the ground here, the last two weeks a different story. If you get it then it's usually not sticking around too long.
 

Of course you do occasionally have months like March 2018 which you alluded to. I had snow on the ground virtually the entire month, but of course from March 2 to April 5 I also had 50 inches of snow, not exactly your typical March.

 

[PhiEaglesfan712]

3 hours ago, bluewave said:

This has been a top 30 coldest 10 day period on Long Island and the coldest since 2017.

Minimum 10-Day Mean Avg Temperature 
for ISLIP-LI MACARTHUR AP, NY
Click column heading to sort ascending, click again to sort descending.

1	8.3	1979-02-09 through 1979-02-18	0
2	8.6	1979-02-10 through 1979-02-19	0
3	9.9	1979-02-11 through 1979-02-20	0
4	10.0	1979-02-08 through 1979-02-17	0
5	11.3	1979-02-07 through 1979-02-16	0
6	11.9	1979-02-06 through 1979-02-15	0
7	12.5	1968-01-04 through 1968-01-13	0
8	12.7	1979-02-12 through 1979-02-21	0
9	12.8	1979-02-05 through 1979-02-14	0
10	13.0	1968-01-02 through 1968-01-11	0
11	13.2	1968-01-03 through 1968-01-12	0
12	13.5	1968-01-05 through 1968-01-14	0
13	14.0	1968-01-01 through 1968-01-10	0
14	15.0	1979-02-04 through 1979-02-13	0
15	15.2	1968-01-06 through 1968-01-15	0
16	15.5	1967-12-31 through 1968-01-09	0
17	15.6	2017-12-29 through 2018-01-07	0
-	15.6	1981-01-04 through 1981-01-13	0
18	15.7	1968-01-07 through 1968-01-16	0
19	16.0	2017-12-28 through 2018-01-06	0
-	16.0	1981-01-03 through 1981-01-12	0
-	16.0	1968-01-08 through 1968-01-17	0
20	16.2	1965-01-11 through 1965-01-20	0
21	16.3	1979-02-13 through 1979-02-22	0
22	16.4	1982-01-10 through 1982-01-19	0
23	16.4	1981-01-05 through 1981-01-14	0
24	16.5	1977-01-12 through 1977-01-21	0
25	16.5	1977-01-15 through 1977-01-24	0
26	16.6	2017-12-30 through 2018-01-08	0
-	16.6	1977-01-13 through 1977-01-22	0
-	16.6	1977-01-11 through 1977-01-20	0
27	16.8	2026-01-24 through 2026-02-02	0

I find this list hard to believe to be correct without any February 2015 dates listed on here.

[NorthShoreWx]

11 minutes ago, eduggs said:

I think the median 30-year March snowfall at NYC is about 1.5". The mean, which is skewed by a few snowier years, is about 4". Certainly areas outside NYC can do better. But March 2018 comes around once every 50 years. Sadly, March 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 are far more common.

The 2020's might be what is skewing the means. There's more than just cc at work in those awful 2020's March's.  There is also coincidence.  Let's revisit this discussion in 5 years.

[donsutherland1]

24 minutes ago, PhiEaglesfan712 said:

I find this list hard to believe to be correct without any February 2015 dates listed on here.

2015 is prominently featured in the coldest 30-day periods in terms of minimum temperatures: 

[bluewave]

22 minutes ago, PhiEaglesfan712 said:

I find this list hard to believe to be correct without any February 2015 dates listed on here.

The coldest 10 day stretch back in February 2015 was .1 warmer as that month was more about the longer duration February cold.

16.8	2026-02-02

16.9	2015-02-21

[MarcmmKU]

52 minutes ago, NorthShoreWx said:

The 2020's might be what is skewing the means. There's more than just cc at work in those awful 2020's March's.  There is also coincidence.  Let's revisit this discussion in 5 years.

Unfavorable enso you think? Nina has been so dominant in the 2020s its insane. We need a good string of niños for the latter half of the 20s to avoid the decade being another disaster like the 80s or worse.

[NorthShoreWx]

Temperature got briefly up to 33 here.  With the clouds that have moved in, its back down to 30.7°

This morning's low was 15°  We've really not been radiating well so far this winter compared to usual.  I'm not sure why.  I suspect that the windier than normal conditions on average is part of it, but not necessarily the only factor.

[SACRUS]

 

34 / 16 with some pokes of sun

[Nibor]

Perhaps the fluffiest flurries I’ve ever seen currently coming down in lower Manhattan. 

[NorthShoreWx]

000
NOUS61 KOKX 031615
FTMOKX
Message Date: Feb 03 2026 16:15:43

KOKX radar will be down for maintenance today until ~2330z.

[MJO812]

Norlun on Saturday ?