Bone-chilling temperatures accompanied the start of February as a strong cold front barreled through the state on the 1st. High pressure over the lower Mississippi Valley trailed the front and ushered in arctic air for Groundhog Day. With lows dipping into the single digits overnight, the brave souls who journeyed to Punxsutawney found themselves huddling together for warmth only to see Phil predict another six weeks of winter. A weakening low pressure system passed through on the morning of the 4th providing an inch of snow to western parts of the state while eastern regions experienced just some flurries. The dreary start to the month wound down with statewide temperatures in the lower 30s on the weekend of the 5th and 6th.

High pressure off the Atlantic coast funneled in warm air from the south providing the state with a much needed thaw for the second week. The mercury rose into the upper 40s with some locations around Pittsburgh and Philadelphia reaching the 50 degree plateau. A weak cold front brought the first measurable rainfall of the year on the 11th with amounts ranging from .2 inches in the southwest to a trace in the east. High pressure from Canada settled over the Northeast on the 12th dropping temperatures back into the upper 20s and lower 30s.

The weather was not quite as lovely as most would have liked for Valentine's Day. A strong winter storm moved up the East Coast hammering the state with over an inch of accumulated precipitation. However, with surface temperatures in the upper 20s and warmer temperatures aloft, most of it fell as sleet and freezing rain making for tough traveling conditions on the roads as well as the sidewalks. Temperatures quickly ascended to the lower 40s on the 15th melting most the fallen ice. A dying cold front brought a dusting of snow for the 16th, but high pressure once again rose temperatures into the mid-40s on the 17th. This week of wild weather was topped off on the 18th as another large storm invaded the Northeast dropping an extensive amount of mixed precipitation. Northern areas were affected the least as they received up to six inches of snow, but the southern portions of the state experienced more drastic conditions with snow amounts ranging from 8 to 12 inches.

The final full week of the month provided a break from the tough winter with temperatures rising to record warmth. Temperatures in the mid 40s on the 21st slowly inched their way into the lower 70s and setting new records for the 25th. The airport in Philadelphia reached 69 degrees breaking the old mark of 67 set back in 1976. Not to be shown up, however, the Pittsburgh airport topped off at 73 degrees beating the 43-year old record by five degrees. Pittsburgh again experienced new record highs on the 26th with the 76 degree reading shattering the old mark of 63 degrees.

A cold front passed on the 27th dousing the state with a soaking rainfall. Amounts ranged from .25 inches in the southwest to .59 inches in the northeastern regions of the Commonwealth. The leap year of 2000 went quietly with clear skies and temperatures hovering around 50 degrees. Get ready-spring is right around the corner.

-Brian Lowry & Brian Ayers

Here are the weather extremes across the Commonwealth: