Coldest Winter In 30 Years and Coldest February Since 1979
By Meteorologist Bobby Boyd, National Weather Service, Nashville, Tennessee


Photo Credit: Bobby Boyd

It’s been unusually cold this winter across Middle Tennessee (coldest in 30 years) with all three winter months below normal in temperature at Nashville for the first time since the winter of 1977-1978. The temperature this winter (Dec, Jan, Feb) averaged 35.6 degrees making the meteorological winter of 2009-2010 the 11th coldest on record and the coldest since the winter of 1978-1979. The temperature this winter in Nashville averaged 4.0 degrees below normal. The coldest temperature this winter in Nashville was 8 degrees on January 10, 2010.

The months of December, January and February are considered the meteorological winter by most meteorologists and climatologists as opposed to the astronomical winter which begins with the winter solstice and ends with the vernal equinox.

Rainfall totaled 10.89 inches for the winter months which is 1.31 inches below normal. Snowfall for the winter months totaled 7.1 inches. While only a trace of snow fell in December 2009, January totaled 4.8 inches and February 2.3 inches. This has been the snowiest winter in the Nashville area since the winter of 2002-2003 when 15.1 inches fell. Average winter snowfall is 9.1 inches for the Nashville area.

Coldest Winters In Nashville
1.  1977-1978
2.  1962-1963
3.  1976-1977
4.  1917-1918
5.  1935-1936
6.  1904-1905
7.  1901-1902
8.  1885-1886
9.  1978-1979
10.  1963-1964
11.  2009-2010
12.  1894-1895

February 2010 ended 6.9 degrees below normal making it the 12th coldest February on record in Nashville and the coldest since 1979. The temperature reached 50 degrees only on 4 days during the month of February. This is the fewest 50 degree days since February 1978 when 50 degrees was reached only on 1 day during the month, which is the fewest ever in the month of February. The temperature reached 60 degrees only on 2 days in February of 2010. This is the fewest 60 degree days in February since 1978 when Nashville failed to reach the 60 degree mark for the only time in the month of February.

Rainfall during the month of February totaled 2.77 inches which was 0.92 inches below normal. Snowfall totaled 2.3 inches in February. Average snowfall in February is 3.4 inches.

Coldest Februarys on record.
1.  1978
2.  1899
3.  1895
4.  1905
5.  1958
6.  1902
7.  1947
8.  1968
9.  1885
10. 1979
11. 1963
12. 2010

Read more here.

-------------------

The coldest winter in three decades in South Florida here.

A colder-than-normal February wrapped up the coldest winter since the early 1980s over south Florida. Almost all main weather reporting sites recorded the coldest December-February average temperature since 1981, except for Miami International Airport which recorded its coldest average winter temperature since 1986. December to February temperatures ended up about 2 to 3 degrees below normal, which is remarkable considering that December was 2 to 3 degrees above normal.

These values resulted in the following all-time recorded rankings: Miami Beach recorded its 2nd coldest winter on record; Naples recorded its 6th coldest winter on record; Moore Haven its 8th coldest and West Palm Beach its 10th coldest winter on record.

The extended periods of cold temperatures in January and February resulted in average temperatures during that two-month period of 4 to 5 degrees below normal. This resulted in all four main climate stations recording among the top 10 coldest January-February temperatures on record. Miami Beach set a record for its all-time coldest January-February on record (previous record set in 1958). In West Palm Beach, it was the 2nd coldest January-February on record; Naples recorded its 3rd coldest January-February, Moore Haven its 3rd coldest, Fort Lauderdale its 8th coldest and Miami its 10th coldest January-February average temperature on record. Only in the winters of 1940, 1958, 1977 and 1981 did January-February average temperatures come close to what was observed in 2010. The coldest period observed this winter was between January 2nd and January 13th when south Florida experienced one of its coldest 12-day periods on record (read more about this exceptional cold episode here).

---------------------

First Tornado Free February in at Least 60 Years

See also here where this is the first February without a tornado for the United States in at least 60 years.

February typically has 22 tornadoes on average, based on reports dating back to 1950 from the SPC. “Despite it being an El Nino year, which would normally mean severe weather in the South, the jet stream has been depressing cold air very far south and it has combined with cooler-than-normal Gulf of Mexico water temperatures,” Margusity said. “These have led to the suppression of severe weather in February.”

However, this would not be the first tornado-free month on record. According to the SPC, only five months since 1950 have failed to turn in a tornado report: October 1952, December 1963, November 1976, January 1986 and January 2003. Story thanks to AccuWeather.com’s Jon Auciello.