Despite record warm weather, average temps same as last winter
It can be argued that it’s the year without a winter, as temperatures for most of the season have been on the mild side. Despite the bitter cold in December, this winter has been one that felt more like fall and spring than winter.
In just a few short days, six to be exact, meteorological winter ends and meteorological spring begins. Despite the week of 70s, with a few record highs mixed in, it has felt like spring across Mid-Missouri for much of the month. In fact, if February were to end today, it would end with an average temperature of 45.3 degrees. If this holds, and it likely will, this will be the warmest February ever recorded since record-keeping began back in the late 1800s. The current warmest is February of 1930, when the average temperature was 44.2 degrees.
It’s a trend that has been on the increase for the last two years. Despite a few arctic outbreaks, the past two years have seen a winter that has been largely absent. When you compare the two winters you get similar numbers, that surprisingly averages out to the exact average.
Winter 2015-2016:
– Dec: 42.8 degrees (3rd warmest)
– Jan: 30.9 degrees (56th warmest)
– Feb: 38.8 degrees (23rd warmest)
Average winter temperature: 37.5 degrees
Winter 2016-2017:
– Dec: 31.9 degrees (51st coldest)
– Jan: 35.5 degrees (15th warmest)
– Feb: 45.3 degrees (Warmest February ever, with only 7 more days to go for climatology records)
Average winter temperature: 37.5 degrees
This would have back to back top 5 warmest records on winter. We’ll end the winter of 2016 on a mild note, but as we begin meteorological spring, it’s likely the cold will return.
Currently, there is a build up of cold air in Russia, which many weather models are depicting will spill over into the Midwest as we transition into March. It’s still too early to tell, but weather models have been hinting for the past few weeks that a cold blast could hit as we head into March. If this were to occur, we’ll likely start of the spring season on a cold note, as the battle of the seasons continues to take place here in Mid-Missouri.
For now, the past two years will go down as the years without a winter.
