Almanac: February To Be Bitter Cold

Will February be “numbingly cold,” as the Farmers Almanac predicts?

Or will it be an average temperature month?

Michael Sabones, a meteorologist in charge at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North Webster, Ind., office, said the Climate Prediction Center’s outlook for Northwest Ohio is for “equal chances” that temperatures will be above or below average.

“There’s no driving mechanism indicating a better chance of below-average temperatures, and no driving mechanism indicating a better chance for above-average temperatures.

“There’s no clear trend that points to anything,” he said.

This is an El Niño year. El Niño is when certain conditions in the Pacific Ocean appear to influence weather in North America.

Sabones said in an El Niño, the Northwest United States tends to be warmer, while the East Coast and Southeast tend to be cooler.

The Almanac, a yearly publication that features long-range weather forecasts, said, “A large area of numbingly cold temperatures will predominate from roughly east of the Continental Divide to west of the Appalachians. The coldest temperatures will be over the northern Great Lakes and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.”

By the way, just what is average?

Sabones said the monthly average for February in Northwest Ohio is 27 degrees, with highs averaging 35 and lows averaging 19 to 20.