Coldest February On Record?- Updated Wed

We are still on pace for the coldest or nearly coldest Feb on record. And there are very few changes to the forecast as of this morning. 

The only changes are to tonight and Thu as the clouds will thicken up tonight if not before and stay cloudy into early Friday morning. Some light snow showers are likely. Nothing more than a coating of snow: 

Wed Night: Cloudy. Flurries and/or snow showers late. Dusting possible. Low 12. 
Thu: Cloudy, with a few snow showers/flurries. High: 18. Low: 10. 
Fri: Sun and clouds. Late day clearing. Cold. High: 21. Low -5. 
Sat: Sun and clouds. Still cold. High: 25. Low: 0
Sunday: increasing clouds. Snow arriving at night. High: 29. Low: 25. 



Coldest February Ever?

From the NWS out of State College for Central PA:

"THROUGH 2/21/2015...HARRISBURG /MDT/ AVG. MONTHLY TEMPERATURE IS 20.7 DEGREES. THIS CURRENTLY RANKS #1 COLDEST FEBRUARY ON RECORD WITH 7 MORE DAYS TO GO IN THE MONTH.

THE 20.7 AVG. MONTHLY TEMPERATURE CURRENTLY RANKS #4 COLDEST MONTH ALL-TIME/ON RECORD  BEHIND #3 JANUARY 1994 (20.3) ... #2 JANUARY 1977 (20.1) AND #1 JANUARY 1918 (19.1).

 THROUGH 2/21/2015...WILLIAMSPORT /IPT/ AVG. MONTHLY TEMPERATURE IS 18.0 DEGREES. THIS CURRENTLY RANKS #1 COLDEST FEBRUARY ON RECORD WITH 7 MORE DAYS TO GO IN THE MONTH. THE 18.0 AVG. MONTHLY

TEMPERATURE CURRENTLY RANKS #3 COLDEST MONTH ALL-TIME/ON RECORD BEHIND #2 JANUARY 1918 (16.5) ... #1 JANUARY 1977 (14.9)." 

 I suppose that if you are going to endure cold, you might just as well set a record and make it worth our while. Not sure if it makes me feel warmer, but at least we know that exclamations that it is cold, are not an overreaction. It is cold. Although yesterday, was absolutely beautiful. Warm sunshine. Temps near 40. WOW!  Never knew “normal” temperatures could feel so warm.

Now on to this week:  One main point to discuss

1.       BITTER COLD (Mon – Tue)
2.       NOT AS BITTER COLD (Tue night – Wed)
3.       BITTER COLD (Wed night – Sat morning)
4.       SNOW: (very light stuff Thu/Thu night?  Best chance is Sunday, even though some models/forecasts are touting a warm up. I am skeptical as cold is king in this pattern for the next 10 days. Just look at last weekend’s storm. Several models 2 days before the storm touted 45-50 degrees for us!  How did that work out? This cold is impressive. It will ease up some next week. But until it does. It is the dominant force in this weather. So I’m sticking with snow chances next Sun, not rain.) 

Forecast:

Monday               22                           -2                            Bitter cold with steady or slowly falling temps. 
                                                                                               Increasing sun. Breezy.  

Tuesday               18                           10                           Sunshine with increasing clouds in afternoon. Cold. Not 
                                                                                             as bitter cold at night.  

Wednesday        27                           6                              Partly sunny. Breezy. Colder late. Flurries/snow shower 
                                                                                              possible.   

Thursday             17                           9                              Breezy. Bitter cold again. Sun, increasing clouds.  Snow   
                                                                                               showers at night? 

Friday                  20                           -6                           Less wind. Bitter cold. Lots of sunshine.

Saturday              25                           13                           Sunshine. Temps moderating some. Still very cold.  

Sunday                 30                           28                          Chance for snow and/or mixed precipitation. Milder.