‘Lost winter’ wraps up with Iowa’s 2nd warmest February on record

The calendar says spring arrives March 19th, but meteorological winter actually ended yesterday, making this the first day of meteorological spring.

State climatologist Justin Glisan says it was cold and snowy, sure, but it really wasn’t much of a winter.

“For December-January-February, third warmest winter on record,” Glisan says, “almost seven degrees above average. We’ve been throwing around the phrase ‘the lost winter,’ given how warm conditions were.”

As for the just-ended month of February, Glisan says what little snow fell didn’t stick around long.

“If we’re looking at the average temperature, it was about 36 degrees,” Glisan says, “second warmest February in 152 years of records. That average is actually the climatological average temperature for March.”

The statewide average for precipitation during February was only two-tenths of an inch, making it Iowa’s third-driest February on record.

Glisan says forecast models predict March will be warmer than normal, with good chances for increased precipitation.