February Summary

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK
159 AM AKST THU MAR 1 2012

...MONTHLY WEATHER SUMMARY FOR FAIRBANKS ALASKA...

IN A DRAMATIC TURN AROUND FROM JANUARY...FAIRBANKS TEMPERATURES
IN FEBRUARY WERE PERSISTENTLY MILDER THAN NORMAL. HALF
THE DAYS DURING THE MONTH HAD AN AVERAGE DAILY TEMPERATURE
10 DEGREES OR MORE ABOVE NORMAL...WHILE ONLY THREE DAYS WERE 10 OR
MORE DEGREES COLDER THAN NORMAL. THIS WAS THE MILDEST FEBRUARY IN
FAIRBANKS SINCE 2002.

OVERALL..THE AVERAGE HIGH TEMPERATURE AT THE FAIRBANKS AIRPORT WAS
17 ABOVE AND THE AVERAGE LOW WAS 5 BELOW. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE
FOR THE MONTH OF 5.9 ABOVE WAS 7.2 DEGREES WARMER THAN
NORMAL...AND A WHOPPING 32.7 DEGREES WARMER THAN THAN AVERAGE
TEMPERATURE IN JANUARY. ONLY ONCE...IN 1934...WAS A JANUARY TO
FEBRUARY AVERAGE TEMPERATURE INCREASE GREATER THAN THIS YEAR.

THE HIGH TEMPERATURE IN FEBRUARY AT THE AIRPORT WAS 31 DEGREES ON
THE 5TH AND THE LOW OF 35 BELOW OCCURRED ON THE 1ST. TEMPERATURES
DID CREEP A BIT ABOVE FREEZING IN PARTS OF THE AREA...ESPECIALLY
ON THE 9TH AND 10TH...INCLUDING 35 DEGREES AT NORTH POLE AND
37 DEGREES AT UAF WEST RIDGE.

SNOWFALL WAS NEAR NORMAL IN FEBRUARY...WITH 7.5 INCHES AT THE
AIRPORT. THIS MELTED DOWN TO 0.42 INCHES OF WATER...WHICH IS
EXACTLY NORMAL. SNOW DEPTHS VARIED THROUGH THE MONTH BETWEEN 18
AND 21 INCHES.

WINDS WERE CHARACTERISTICALLY LIGHT AT THE AIRPORT...AVERAGING
ONLY 2.3 MPH. THE PEAK WIND OF 23 MPH OCCURRED ON THE 2ND.

FOR THE MID-WINTER PERIOD...DECEMBER THROUGH FEBRUARY...LARGE
TEMPERATURE SWINGS WERE THE RULE...WHICH ALMOST COMPLETELY
BALANCED OUT. THE FIRST THREE WEEKS OF DECEMBER WERE THE WARMEST
OF RECORD. THE LAST DAYS OF DECEMBER UNTIL THE FIRST OF FEBRUARY
WERE CONSISTENTLY QUITE COLD...FOLLOWED BY MILD WEATHER MOST OF
FEBRUARY. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR THE THREE MONTHS AT THE
AIRPORT OF MINUS 5.9 DEGREES WAS ABOUT 1.5 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL.
SNOWFALL FOR THE THREE MONTHS WAS VERY CLOSE TO NORMAL...BUT FOR
THE SEASON THE TOTAL SNOW OF 42.7 INCHES IS MORE THAN A FOOT BELOW
NORMAL DUE TO THE LOW SNOWFALL IN THE AUTUMN.

LOOKING AHEAD TO MARCH...RAPIDLY INCREASING SUNSHINE HELPS BOAST
TEMPERATURES. AVERAGE DAILY HIGH TEMPERATURES INCREASE FROM
18 DEGREES ON THE 1ST TO 34 DEGREES ON THE 31ST. AVERAGE LOW
TEMPERATURES INCREASE FROM 9 BELOW ON THE 1ST TO 8 ABOVE ON THE
31ST. IN THE PAST 105 YEARS...TEMPERATURES HAVE RANGED FROM A HIGH
OF 56 DEGREES IN 1994 TO A LOW OF 56 BELOW IN 1911. SNOWFALL IS
TYPICALLY LIGHT...AVERAGING LESS THAN 5 INCHES...AND HAS EXCEEDED
A FOOT ONLY TWICE IN THE PAST 40 YEARS. POSSIBLE SUNSHINE
INCREASES FROM JUST OVER 10 HOURS ON THE FIRST TO 13 AND ONE HALF
HOURS ON THE 31ST. THE FORECAST FOR MARCH FROM NOAA'S CLIMATE
PREDICTION CENTER CALLS FOR AN INCREASED CHANCE OF SIGNIFICANTLY
BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES FOR FAIRBANKS.