Feb. 2014: Weather/Climate Review and Extremes

(Click on the links in gray boxes below to quickly jump to information located farther down the page)

* Please Note: All climate data presented here are preliminary and have not undergone final quality control by the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC). Therefore, these data are subject to revision. Final and certified climate data can be accessed at: WWW.NCDC.NOAA.GOV. 

February 2014 Climate And Weather Review For South Central Nebraska
And Portions Of North Central Kansas

...Coldest Month Versus “Normal” Since Dec. 2009…Rather Snowy Across Many Southern Counties But Generally Less Snow In the North...

The following narrative focuses on climate and weather highlights for the month of February 2014 across the NWS Hastings coverage area, encompassing 24 counties in south central and central Nebraska, and 6 counties in north central Kansas. Click here for a map of this coverage area. The temperature and precipitation data presented here are largely based on the NWS Cooperative Observer network, along with data from a handful of automated airport sites. All climate averages and "normals" presented here are based on the official NCDC 1981-2010 normals.

- TEMPERATURES...(According to 30-year averages, "normal" February high temperatures gradually climb from 37-44° across northern portions of the area generally north of Interstate 80, and from 38-49° across southern portions of the area, including North Central Kansas. Low temperatures typically make a gradual climb from 13-23° across the northern half of the area, and from 16-25° in southern counties.)

Based on the monthly average temperature (resulting from averaging together the daily highs and lows), Feb. 2014 was the overall-coldest month versus “normal” in over four years for much of the NWS Hastings coverage area, since Dec. 2009. As evidence of this, most of the area recorded a monthly average temperature ranging somewhere between 6-8° below normal, which is a modestly-significant departure. In contrast to the notable temperature “roller coaster” that defined much of Dec. 2013 and Jan. 2014, day-to-day temperature fluctuations during February were less-extreme. Although the middle part of the month featured a decent stretch of seasonably mild readings, both a very cold start and a cold finish to the month ensured the solidly below normal overall-average. For many weather stations across the area with a long period of record, Feb. 2014 finished somewhere between the 10th-20th coldest on record. At Grand Island Central Nebraska Regional Airport, the monthly average of 23.4° tied with Feb. 1913 for the 25th-coldest on record out of 119 years, while at Hastings Municipal Airport the monthly average of 23.4° resulted in the 11th-coldest on record out of the 84 Februarys on record with no more than 2 days of missing data. For much of the area this was the overall-coldest February since 2001.

At Hastings airport, where temperature trends were generally representative of much of the 30-county as a whole, 17 of the 28 February days featured a below normal average temperature, including the first 11 days and also the final six days. In fact, the first 10 days of the month marked the coldest start to Feb. since 1989. In between the very cold start and cold finish, 10 consecutive days between the 13th-22nd actually averaged above normal. Breaking down the month into week-long chunks, the overall coldest week across most of the area was centered from the 4th-10th, during which five of seven days at Hastings failed to reach 19°. During this week, by far the coldest two days of the month across the area were the 5th-6th, as evidenced by highs of only 9°/7° at places such as Hastings, and only 11°/9° at southern sites such as Beloit KS. As for low temperatures, Hastings airport plunged to -11°/-14° on these two days, with the -14° on the 6th setting a new record for the date, eclipsing the previous mark of -12° originally established exactly 100 years ago. For much of the area, this brief-but-intense cold snap was the worst in 3-4 years. As evidence of this: At Hastings, Feb. 5th-6th marked the first time since Jan. 11-12, 2011, that consecutive days failed to reach 10°, and Feb. 5th-7th marked the first time since Jan. 7-9, 2010, that three consecutive days failed to reach 15°. In stark contrast to the very cold start to the month, the overall-mildest week of February across much of the area was centered from the 15th-21st, during which five of seven days at Hastings reached at least 53°, and highlighted by 66° on the 18th. Following this mid-month mild stretch, things went on to finish on a cold note, as high temperatures on five of the final six days failed to top 32° at Hastings.

Per dozens of NWS cooperative observers and a few automated airport sites, the 18th was hands-down the warmest day of the month. Several places cracked the 70°-mark that day, including highs of 71° at Beloit KS, two miles southwest of Alton KS and four miles west-northwest of Plainville KS, and 70° at Hebron, four miles east of Superior, Burr Oak KS, Smith Center KS and Kirwin Dam KS. On the much-colder end of the thermometer, nearly all sites recorded their most frigid sub-zero lows on the morning of the 6th, highlighted by values as low as -21° at Ravenna, -20° at Cambridge, -18° at Holdrege and -17° at both Beaver City and Lexington airport. Among the Nebraska Tri-Cities official temperature stations, both Grand Island and Hastings airports tied for the mildest February reading of 66° on the 18th, while the cooperative observer at the Kearney airport notched the coldest low of -16° on the 6th.

(Please look farther down the page for more information on February 2014 temperatures and extremes, including detailed breakdowns for Grand Island, Hastings, Kearney and Ord.)


- PRECIPITATION/SNOWFALL/FLOODING...(According to 30-year averages, "normal" February precipitation (rainfall and snow liquid equivalent) across most of the 30-county area ranges somewhere between 0.50-inch and 0.75-inch, with the highest amounts favoring eastern areas closest to the Highway 81 corridor such as York, Hebron and Beloit. Normal February snowfall ranges from 5-6 inches across most of South Central Nebraska, and 3-4 inches in North Central Kansas.)

For much of the 30-county NWS Hastings area, this was at least the 3rd or 4th-consecutive month of at least slightly below normal precipitation. However, February featured a noticeable north (drier, less snow) to south (wetter, snowier) disparity across the area, mainly because the month’s two main snow events targeted locations near and south of the Nebraska-Kansas border. The first notable snowfall event occurred on the 4th, and dropped a swath of generally 4-8” primarily south of a Hebron-Phillipsburg line. Then a few weeks later on the 22nd-23rd, a particularly narrow band of heavy snow generally no more than 10-15 miles wide dumped a widespread 6-9” along an axis centered from northern Furnas through Harlan counties in Nebraska, and then east-southeast across northern Phillips and Smith counties in Kansas (see story links near the top of this page for more information on both of these snow events). Primarily as a result of these two events, roughly 30% of the NWS Hastings coverage area actually reported above normal monthly liquid precipitation equivalent. However, based largely on reports from nearly 70 NWS Cooperative Observers and a few automated airport gauges, a much higher percentage of the 30-county domain (roughly 70%) fell short of normal February precipitation, including many places near/north of Highway 6 in Nebraska. Furthermore, at least one-fifth of the NWS Hastings area likely tallied LESS THAN ONE HALF of normal February precipitation, including several stations north of Interstate 80.

Generally speaking, the majority (roughly two-thirds) of Cooperative Observer stations within the 30-county area reported February precipitation totals somewhere between 0.30-0.80”. However, there were certainly wetter and drier outliers on either side of this range. Starting with the dry side of things, a few of the lowest official February precipitation totals included 0.12” at Greeley, 0.13” at Geneva, 0.19” at both Belgrade and Ord airport, and 0.22” at Polk. On the much “wetter” side of the spectrum were southern locations such as four miles west-northwest of Plainville KS (1.07”), Covert rural station approx. nine miles east-northeast of Natoma KS (1.06”), Wilsonville (1.05”) and two miles northeast of Upland (1.03”). At the official Nebraska Tri-Cities airport sites, precipitation totals were remarkably similar, consisting of 0.36” at Kearney, 0.34” at Hastings and 0.33” at Grand Island.

As for February 2014 snowfall, and based exclusively on the Cooperative Observer network, roughly three-fourths of the 30-county area received at least slightly above normal accumulations, and about one-fifth of the area actually measured at least TWICE NORMAL February snowfall amounts. The majority (roughly two-thirds) of stations reported snowfall totals somewhere between 5.5-12.0”. However, on the less-snowy side of things were locations such as Greeley (3.6”), Belgrade (3.8”) and four miles south of Shickley (4.0”). In contrast, much-higher February totals in excess of one foot occurred at several southern stations including Wilsonville (16.0”), Lebanon KS (15.2”), Mankato KS (14.9”) and Smith Center KS (14.8”). At places such as Cambridge, Smith Center KS and four miles west-northwest of Plainville KS, this was one of the Top-10 snowiest Februarys on record. Official Nebraska Tri-Cities snowfall totals included 7.5” at Hastings, 6.6” at Grand Island and 5.8” at Kearney. Through Feb. 28th, Grand Island’s season-to-date snowfall of 13.5” was still 8.6” behind the 30-year normal.

Turning to flooding issues during February, as often occurs during periods of fluctuating winter temperatures there were at least a few known-cases of ice jam flooding, both of which occurred along the Platte River. Most significantly, the first few days of February featured a worsening of flooding that started in late January along the Platte River’s north channel in southern Buffalo County, primarily from just downstream of Kearney to areas south of the Interstate 80 Gibbon interchange. This flooding even affected some homes in the Sweetwater Avenue area just southeast of Kearney before waters receded by Feb. 3rd. Later in the month mainly between the 22nd-24th, generally minor ice-jam flooding affected lowland and pasture areas along the Platte River in the vicinity of Highway 281 and Interstate 80 just south of Grand Island.

Briefly examining the bigger precipitation picture for all of “meteorological winter” (consisting of the entire three-month period of December-February), the 2013-2014 season was notably dry especially within the northern two-thirds of the NWS Hastings coverage area. At Greeley, the paltry seasonal total of 0.22” resulted in the 2nd-driest winter out of the 72 on record that have complete data. In the Tri-Cities, Grand Island airport had its 9th-driest winter on record out of 119 seasons, while at Hastings airport it was the 11th-driest winter out of the 92 that have complete data.

(Please look farther down the page for more information on February 2014 precipitation/snowfall and extremes, including rankings of wettest and driest locations, percent-of-normal plots, and a detailed breakdown for Grand Island, Hastings, Kearney and Ord. In addition, the link on the far upper right of this page contains an archive of monthly/annual precipitation and snowfall totals for around 70 locations.)


- DROUGHT STATUS (see images at bottom of page)...Despite another month of below normal precipitation for the majority (roughly 70%) of the 30-county area, the weekly U.S. Drought Monitor indicated overall-little change in drought classification over the course of February. Within the 24 Nebraska counties, there was one small area of “improvement”, as portions of central Harlan, southern Franklin and far southwestern Webster counties changed from Category D2 Severe Drought to Category D1 Moderate Drought. Farther north, however, a degradation from Category D0 Abnormally Dry (considered to be one category better than “true” drought) to Category D1 Moderate Drought overtook much of Greeley, northern Nance and far northern Howard counties. Elsewhere, the majority of the NWS Hastings coverage area held status quo. As a result, on the Kansas side of the border D2 Severe Drought remained intact across essentially all of Phillips, Rooks, Smith and Osborne counties along with the western fringes of Jewell and Mitchell counties, although the majority of Jewell and Mitchell remained in D1 Moderate Drought. Farther north across the 24 Nebraska counties in the NWS Hastings coverage area, a west (worse) to east (better) disparity in drought classification remained in place. Therefore, D2 Severe Drought continued to plague all or part of a few southwestern counties, namely Furnas, Gosper, southern Dawson and southern Harlan. Meanwhile, just to the east and northeast of the D2 area, a corridor of D1 Moderate Drought covered all or most of several counties including Valley, Sherman, Greeley, Phelps, Kearney, Franklin and Webster. Finally, several counties along and especially east of the Highway 281 corridor remained in Category D0 Abnormally Dry classification at month's end (including all of Hall, Adams, Hamilton, York and Thayer counties, among others).

Looking beyond the borders of the NWS Hastings coverage area to account for the entire states of Nebraska and Kansas, there were very small increases in the cumulative areal coverage of D1 Moderate to D3 Extreme Drought during February: As of March 4th, 51% of Nebraska and 65% of Kansas was assigned D1-or-worse Drought (compared to 48% and 63%, respectively, back on Feb. 4th). In both states, there remained an obvious west-to-east disparity, with the worst conditions focused in western counties and somewhat better conditions in the east.  


- SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS/HIGH WINDS...During February 2014, the vast majority of the NWS Hastings coverage area observed no thunderstorms whatsoever, let alone severe storms. Furthermore, it was not nearly as windy as it was during the preceding month of January. In fact, at airport sites such as Grand Island and Ord, only one day (Feb. 20th) featured a peak gust in excess of 50 MPH, including a 57 MPH gust at Ord in the wake of a cold front.

- Number of Severe Thunderstorm Warning polygons issued by NWS Hastings in February 2014: Zero (same as February 2013)
- Number of Tornado Warning polygons issued by NWS Hastings in February 2014: ZERO (same as February 2013)
- Number of confirmed tornadoes within the NWS Hastings coverage area in February 2014: ZERO  (same as February 2013)

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Click on the link below for February 2014 climate summaries specifically for Grand Island, Hastings, Kearney and Ord 

Grand Island - Hastings - Kearney - Ord

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Various graphs and tables depicting February 2014 climate data for
South Central Nebraska and North Central Kansas:

* Please Note: These data are preliminary and have not undergone final quality control by the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC). Therefore, these data are subject to revision. Final and certified climate data can be accessed at WWW.NCDC.NOAA.GOV

Click Each Graph To Go To Monthly Temp/Precip Summary Pages

Grand Island Temperature Summary: Observed daily maximum and minimum temperatures are connected by blue bars. Area between normal maximum and minimum temperatures is shaded green. Red bars connect record high temperatures. Blue bars connect record low temperatures.	Hastings Temperature Summary: Observed daily maximum and minimum temperatures are connected by blue bars. Area between normal maximum and minimum temperatures is shaded green. Red bars connect record high temperatures. Blue bars connect record low temperatures.

Click Images To Enlarge

Grand Island Precipitation Summary: Green line indicates cumulative observed precipitation for February 2014. Brown line indicates "normal" February precipitation based on 30-year data from 1981-2010.	Hastings Precipitation Summary: Green line indicates cumulative observed precipitation for February 2014. Brown line indicates "normal" February precipitation based on 30-year data from 1981-2010.

 Most of the following images depicting February 2014 Precipitation and Temperatures are courtesy of the High Plains Regional Climate Center:

* Please note: These maps are a "best-approximation" of actual measured values, and data reflected on these maps may not exactly match actual values due to the effects of interpolation and "smoothing" used to create the maps. In addition, some "bullseyes" may be a result of missing data.

Click Images To Enlarge

Nebraska: February 2014 Measured Precipitation (Inches)	Kansas: February 2014 Measured Precipitation (Inches)
Nebraska: February 2014 Percent of Normal Measured Precip.	Kansas: February 2014 Percent of Normal Measured Precip.
NWS Hastings Area: February 2014 Total "Observed" Precipitation Based On AHPS Precipitation Analysis Including Radar Data
	While the precipitation images above are based strictly on gauge-measured data, this image on the left utilizes an "Observed" multisensor approach created by River Forecast Centers. Hourly precipitation estimates from WSR-88D NEXRAD radar are compared to ground rainfall gauge reports, and a bias (correction factor) is calculated and applied to the radar field. For much more information on these types of images, and to create your own precipitation maps, please visit the following site: https://www.srh.noaa.gov/ridge2/ RFC_Precip/index.php?site=gid
Nebraska: February 2014  Temperature Departure  from Normal (F)	Kansas: February 2014 Temperature Departure  from Normal (F)

The following drought category images, current as of March 4, 2014, are courtesy of the U.S. Drought Monitor (see narrative above for more details):

Click Images To Enlarge 

Nebraska - U.S. Drought Monitor as of March 4, 2014	Kansas - U.S. Drought Monitor as of March 4, 2014

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For more climate related information, check out the following websites:

This page was composed by the staff at the National Weather Service in Hastings, Nebraska.