February Snow Bonanzas - the new norm in SE MI?

[michsnowfreak]

There are many quirks and trends that ebb and flow over the course of climate records that have now been kept for between 130-150 years for most major climate sites.

 

But nothing sticks out for Detroit (and Im sure other nearby areas...Chicago/Toronto climo experts?) than the snowy Februarys we have had for the past dozen years or so. Feb is THE go-to month anymore. Snow records began 142 years ago, yet 8 of the 12 snowiest Februaries have been since 2008!

Detroits snowiest Febs

1.) 38.4" - 1908

2.) 31.7" - 2011

3.) 28.4" - 1881

4.) 28.0" - 1900

4.) 28.0" - 1926

6.) 27.0" - 2010

7.) 26.4" - 2015

8.) 24.2" - 2008

9.) 23.5" - 2013

10.) 23.4" - 2014

11.) 21.8" - 2021

12.) 21.0" - 2018

13.) 20.8" - 1986

14.) 19.6" - 1898

15.) 19.2" - 2003

 

Other

       Oct   Nov    Dec    Jan    Feb    Mar    Apr    May     Annual

1880s     T    1.9    8.7   11.8    9.1    7.8    4.4    0.5     45.5 

1890s     T    3.9   10.1    9.3    9.4    8.8    1.1      T     42.7

1900s     T    1.9    9.5   11.3   14.6    7.5    1.4    0.1     46.3

1910s     T    1.6    9.3   12.1    7.9    8.2    0.4    0.2     39.6

1920s   0.2    3.4   10.0   12.3   11.2    5.5    2.9    0.6     46.1

1930s   0.2    3.0    5.8    8.0    7.5    7.3    1.2    0.0     32.9

1940s   0.1    2.6    6.0    6.7    6.7    3.8    2.0      T     27.8

1950s     T    4.7    7.5   10.3    7.5    7.3    0.6      T     37.8

1960s     T    2.1    7.6    6.7    8.3    6.0    1.1      T     31.8

1970s     T    4.5   13.1   12.2    7.5    6.3    1.9      T     45.6

1980s   0.6    2.3   10.9   10.8   11.4    7.5    1.8      T     45.2

1990s   0.1    1.4    6.2   13.6    7.8    7.7    1.3      T     37.9

2000s     T    1.1   12.3   13.3   10.1    6.5    2.0      T     45.3

2010s     T    2.9    8.5   14.3   18.3    5.0    0.9      T     49.9

 

7 of the past 16 Christmases have been White....but....

14 of the past 16 Valentines Days have been White.

 

11 of the past 15 winter seasons have seen February as the snowiest month

 

When looking at 1"+ snowcover days, indeed, the 2010s were the "whitest" Febs on record, averaging 18 days of 1"+ snowcover. However, this is not terribly far off the long-term avg of 15 days. The amount of days with deep snow in Feb lately has been far more impressive than just total # of snowcover days.

 

As in anything with the weather, this is a trend that could reverse itself anytime. In the meantime though, youd be a fool to bet against a snowy February in a long-range forecast.

 

Hopefully this thread will be visited next February!

[michsnowfreak]

[Chicago WX]

Snowiest Februaries for Chicago

1) 29.0" in 2011

2) 27.8" in 1896

3) 26.8" in 2015

4) 26.2" in 1994

5) 22.6" in 1900

T6) 22.5" in 2010

T6) 22.5" in 1967

8) 21.8" in 2008

9) 21.6" in 2021

10) 21.1" in 1901

T11) 20.3" in 2018

T11) 20.3" in 2007

13) 19.8" in 1908

14) 19.7" in 1978

15) 19.5" in 2014

21) 16.1" in 2013

Though there have been some clunkers too, in the past 20 or so. Especially some early-mid 2000's Februaries...

1) T in 2017

T14) 1.5" in 2003

16) 1.8" in 2002

T20) 2.2" in 2001

21) 2.5" in 2006

22) 2.7" in 2005

 

 

[michsnowfreak]

There have been a few clunkers here as well, but they are definitely the exception. 

Least snowy Febs

3.) 0.9" - 2004

8.) 2.2" - 2017

 Even these clunkers… 2004 had a solid snowpack until the last week of the month in 2017 had a solid snowpack the 1st week of the month before the torch took over.

 

Feb snowfall since 2000

2000	8.1	0
2001	2.9	0
2002	6.7	0
2003	19.2	0
2004	0.9	0
2005	12.5	0
2006	3.8	0
2007	14.1	0
2008	24.2	0
2009	8.5	0
2010	27.0	0
2011	31.7	0
2012	10.2	0
2013	23.5	0
2014	23.4	0
2015	26.4	0
2016	10.7	0
2017	2.2	0
2018	21.0	0
2019	7.3	0
2020	14.7	0
2021	21.8

[michsnowfreak]

The 20.4" of snow that fell at DTW this February makes it the 14th snowiest February on record. It has actually gotten comical how february's recently have just cleaned up.

Since 1881, 10 of the 20 snowiest Februaries have been in the past 20 years. Going further than that, 7 of the top 16 occurred from from 2010 to 2022.

[Baum]

This thread all but guarantees it will not snow next February.

[michsnowfreak]

2 minutes ago, Baum said:

This thread all but guarantees it will not snow next February.

To be fair, I made this thread a year ago. I bumped it just now due to another snowy February.  As funny as it sounds, I'm going to see how December 2022 goes. If it's a mild December with not a lot of snow, I will count on another 20+ inch February. If it's a very wintry December, February will take a break.  Mother nature's trends lately.

[Hoosier]

Really getting tired of the crappy Decembers.  Not asking for a lot in that month, but it has been absolutely pathetic lately.  At least February has been coming through though.  It's been a very impressive run of Februaries.  Have to wonder what is going on with that month... is it a random temporary cycle or is there something bigger driving it.

[Cary67]

Madwx, Cyclone77,and McHenrySnow have no idea what your talking about

[CheeselandSkies]

February 2022 definitely did not bring the action for southern WI though the way 2/20 and '21 did (*see above post made as I was typing mine).

[michsnowfreak]

1 hour ago, Hoosier said:

Really getting tired of the crappy Decembers.  Not asking for a lot in that month, but it has been absolutely pathetic lately.  At least February has been coming through though.  It's been a very impressive run of Februaries.  Have to wonder what is going on with that month... is it a random temporary cycle or is there something bigger driving it.

It is very strange indeed. To be consistently doubling average snowfall during the already 2nd snowiest month of the year is impressive.

 

Of course I'm speaking with a backyard bias, but in addition to the crap December's and excellent February's, we are seeing lots of snowy November's and zzzz Marches. 5 of the past 8 years saw more snow in November than December. Recent years have also seen a succession of late Oct and late Apr snows as well as may flakes in parts of the southern and Central subforum. It's a very strange mixture.

[madwx]

49 minutes ago, Cary67 said:

Madwx, Cyclone77,and McHenrySnow have no idea what your talking about

we were in a real bounty stretch from about 2005-2016 but it's cooled off since then.   The real untold story (besides the obvious December is garbage), is that March snowfall has really tanked here in the past 10 years

[hlcater]

1 hour ago, Cary67 said:

Madwx, Cyclone77,and McHenrySnow have no idea what your talking about

yea I'm not aware of any snow bonanza

[sbnwx85]

[michsnowfreak]

I edited the title a little bit, just to avoid confusion as I was referring to locally in Southern MI, and it's not been the case everywhere.  The frequency of not just snowy February's but top tier snowiest Februarys has been unlike anything I've seen in the climate record for snow, temp, or precip. Although I do remember one of our few more average February's (2019) ironically did have a lot of snow in those areas who missed out this year.

[Brian D]

Just looking at the my local coop site data, Feb has been a bit more snowy the past 20+ years, especially since 2013. Out of the 20 unique amounts listed, 8 are since 2001, with 5 since 2013. 3 of the last 5 Feb are in the list, so very recent years have definitely been snowier.

Two Harbors, MN Top 20 

1922    47.0    
1939    45.5   
2014    31.1    
2001    30.3   
1897    29.0   
2019    27.2    
2018    26.7    
1937    25.0   
1909    24.5    
1936    23.0   
1911/2007    21.0      
*2022    20.3    
1908    20.0   
1930/1965    19.5        
2004    19.3    
1945/1992    18.0      
1986    17.5   
1951    16.7    
1996    16.5    
2013    16.2