February 2001 Pennsylvania Weather Summary

February 2001 was a fairly mild month, punctuated by several warm snaps and only one really cold day. More importantly, the month was quite dry, with only far eastern areas being saved to some degree by a few modest snowstorms.

The first couple days of the month were quite mild, with high temperatures in eastern Pennsylvania reaching into the mid to upper 40’s. The west was a little cooler, with highs in the mid to upper 30’s. A little rain and snow swung through with a weak system on the 2^nd. The 2^nd was also Groundhog Day, and the little guy predicted more wintry weather to come.

The 3^rd and 4^th were fairly quiet days, with temperatures swinging a little to either side of seasonable across the whole state. But a big coastal storm affected eastern PA, and especially northeastern PA, on Monday the 5^th, giving Allentown 13 inches. Philadelphia only received three inches and western PA got nothing. The storm continued to dump snow as it moved northeastward into New England over the next 24 hours. There was a brief burst of snow the next day for western and central Pennsylvania, however, as a small but vigorous disturbance swept through.

Temperatures did not really fall much behind this storm, as an upper level high pressure ridge built over the eastern U.S. Over the next several days there was little precipitation to speak of, and daily high temperatures steadily climbed through the 40’s and into the 50’s. By the evening of Friday the 9^th, temperatures were flirting with 70 in some towns in southwestern PA, and most of the state got to within shouting distance of at least 60. The average temperature for the day in Pittsburgh was 34 degrees above normal. Many of the daily highs were set very late at night, as warm air rushed northward ahead of a strong cold front. This front came through with a vengeance during the early morning hours of Saturday the 10^th, brining strong winds, a brief period of rain showers, and then much cooler temperatures.

Temperatures dropped throughout the day on Saturday. Highs on Sunday the 11^th ranged only from the mid 20’s north to the mid 30’s south. The cold did not last very long though.

A stationary front hung out in the southeastern and southcentral U.S. during the 12^th and 13^th, but a wave of low pressure made a move toward us for the 14^th. It was a gray and rainy Valentine’s Day for Pennsylvania, and it stayed that way for another two days. On the 14^th and 15^th, temperatures were mild, with highs in the 40’s most places to around 50 in southern PA. Temperatures dropped into the 30’s to near 40 for Friday the 16^th, as the rain continued.

A cold front swept this moisture off to the east early on Saturday the 17^th. Skies cleared out considerably, but some scattered lake effect snow showers dotted western and central PA. High temperatures ranged from the mid 20’s west to about 40 in the southeast. Early morning lows on Sunday the 18^th were very chilly, dipping into the teens for most of the state. Highs that day were around the freezing mark, give or take a few degrees across the state.

Temperatures rebounded for Monday and Tuesday, with Tuesday the 20^th being quite a mild day with highs in the 50’s for most of the state, even approaching 60 around Philadelphia. A cold front came through late on the 20^th and into the early morning hours of the next day, making for a windy Wednesday the 21^st with temperatures falling throughout the day.

The tail end of this front linked up with a vigorous disturbance flying out of the central Plains states to create a modest snowstorm for Pennsylvania on Thursday the 22^nd. The eastern part of the state was hardest hit as the storm wrapped up off the New Jersey coast. Philly and Allentown got about 7 inches. Only 2 or 3 inches fell in central and western areas. It was also the coldest day of the month, with even southern areas not making much progress through the 20’s.

Daily high temperatures hung out mainly in the 30’s over the next couple of days. On the 23^rd, some scattered snow showers from the Great Lakes brushed across northern PA. A new storm system began to move onto the scene on the evening of Saturday the 24^th, starting out as some freezing rain in the colder areas of the state. By the end of the weekend, most of the major reporting stations had received two or three tenths of an inch of precipitation, which mostly fell Sunday as rain. The warm surge ahead of this front produced a high temperature of 71 in Pittsburgh and 65 in Erie on Sunday. Cool-air damming in the east kept highs mainly in the 40’s there. This was the same storm system which produced tornadoes in the southeastern part of the country.

The next couple days were fairly mild in central and eastern Pennsylvania, with highs in the mid to upper 40’s, even the 50’s in the southeast. Western PA kept cool, with Pittsburgh and Erie topping out around the freezing point. Just a few snow showers rode the jet stream in the Erie area.

The last day of the month, Wednesday the 28^th, was cool for the whole state, but morning lows were seasonable, keeping the average temperature not too far from normal.

Once again, the key feature of February 2001 was the lack of precipitation for most areas. Among the eight major reporting cities, only Philadelphia and Erie were above average, and only just barely. The far east received a boost from some snowstorms, while several episodes of lake-effect snow kept the far northwest near normal. For the rest of the state, many areas received less than half of the normal monthly precipitation, and State College saw less than a third with only 0.74 inches for the month.

-Evan Blaisdell

February 2001 Extremes for Pennsylvania