MANSFIELD, Ohio–We all know this February has been cold…bitter cold. It could be the coldest on record; and tonight, the last day of February, north central Ohio braces for more snow.
Mansfield’s average temperature for the first 24 days of February amounted to a whopping 15.4 degrees, according to data compiled by the National Weather Service. That ties the record for the city’s lowest average temperature reading for February, which was recorded in 1978. That’s also 13 degrees below the normal temperature for this month.
Based on current temperature predictions, the National Weather Service predicts this month may be the coldest February Mansfield has ever endured, with a projected monthly average temperature of 14.4 degrees.
From Feb. 1-24, there were seven days of sub-zero weather—the coldest of which occurred on Feb. 15 with 11 degrees below zero.
And Mansfield isn’t alone in this frigid fight against the cold. Embarrass, Minnesota, for example, experienced 41 below zero weather on Feb. 19.
Kirk Lombardy, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Cleveland, affirmed that this February is one of the coldest Ohio has ever seen.
And he explained, “There’s an upper level jet stream that’s up around 3,000 feet in the atmosphere, and what that does is it’s kind of a steering current for these storms, and pretty much over the last couple months we’ve noticed that the jet streams are going to go way north over in the west coast of the United States, and then typically what happens next is it forces it to go way south over us.”
“So when that jet stream goes south of us,” he continued, “it allows the cold arctic air to move into our area. And we’ve kind of been in that pattern for the last couple of months now, and that’s why it’s been considerably colder than normal.”
On the bright side, he noted, “There are some indications that we might see a couple warm spells for a couple days or so.” However, he qualified that statement, adding, “But the overall trend right now is that it will still be below normal [through the month of March].”
The National Weather Service gathers weather data from various organizations throughout the state, including Possum Run Greenhouse in Bellville.
Teri Brenkus, office manager, said they provide the National Weather Service with daily data readings for the high, low and current temperatures. Because of the greenhouse’s geographic location, Brenkus said, “Most generally we report the lowest temperatures in Ohio.”
In addition to recording temperature readings, they also sometimes report snow accumulations.
From Feb. 1 – 24, Mansfield accumulated 19.8 inches of snow. That’s only about 32 percent of what Boston reached for the same timeframe. Boston recorded 62.7 inches of snow.
Data compiled by Current Results shows that Ohio’s record for the most amount of snow to fall on a single calendar day was set on Feb. 17, 2003 in Woodsfield with 22 inches. The biggest one-day snowfall for the United States is five feet, three inches, which arrived at Georgetown, Colorado on Dec. 12, 1913.
While many people have most likely experienced cabin fever during the cold weather, hopefully no one is itching to partake in some outdoor swimming, especially at any of the Great Lakes. Lombardy said Wednesday that Lake Erie was completely ice-covered, which is a common occurrence.
He added, “There is considerable ice on Lake Huron. Lake Superior is pretty much completely frozen over. I think the latest value is that 86 percent of the Great Lakes are covered with ice.”
On the bright side, meteorologist Kirk Lombardy noted, “There are some indications that we might see a couple warm spells for a couple days or so.” However, he qualified that statement, adding, “But the overall trend right now is that it will still be below normal [through the month of March].”
