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February Climate Summary Shows A Cooler and Wetter Month

Posted at 9:35 PM, Mar 02, 2013
and last updated 2013-03-02 18:45:06-05

GRAND RAPIDS – February 2013 was both cooler and wetter than normal in Grand Rapids. We actually tallied 33.1 inches of snow making it the fifth snowiest February on record.

The average monthly temperature was 24.8 degrees, about two degrees below normal. If it seemed as if we saw winter pick up in intensity during the month, indeed that was the case. There were only five days where Grand Rapids didn’t record any precipitation during the month.

Here are some of the number at a glance:

  1. The highest temp was 45 degrees and occurred on both the 11th and 18th.
  2. The coldest temp was 1 above and occurred on the 9th.
  3. Grand Rapids had 13 days of temperatures less than 32.
  4. Grand Rapids tallied 3.05 inches of liquid precipitation. That’s 1.26 inches above normal.
  5. As snowy as it was in February, Grand Rapids still had a snow deficit for the season of 7.2 inches.

We also recorded only 18 percent of available sunshine…a rather gloomy, cloudy month indeed! As we get in to the March of March our sun angle begins to get much higher and stronger in the sky, and that means our days are getting longer as well. In fact, we’ll gain an additional hour of daylight next week as we say hello (again) to Daylight Saving Time. Don’t forget to move the clocks ahead (spring forward) one hour next Saturday night March 9, 2013.

The attached photo was submitted to my Facebook page Kevin Craig Foxby  Roxanne McCracken Rau. Beautiful picture of a sunrise somewhere in West Michigan. You can also send photos to weather@fox17online.com. Get the forecast at www.fox17online.com/weather.