With only a trace of snow, this month likely ties for least snowy February

WARWICK, R.I. (WPRI) — Since the start of the new year, it’s been a lackluster winter, and February has been no exception.

Since the start of winter, T.F. Green in Warwick recorded 11.6″ of snow. Of that, 8.0″ fell during the month of December and 3.6″ fell during January.

As for the month of February, it’s likely to come and go without a trace. But actually, a trace of snow is all that was recorded at T.F. Green this month.

In-depth look at our winter snow drought »

Saturday, Feb. 29, will be the final day of the month and the Pinpoint Weather Team is confident in none of the lake effect snow showers impacting our region. With that, February 2020 will tie for the least snowy February since records started being kept. The current record of only a trace of snow is held by February 1984.

Interestingly, a total of 7.20″ of precipitation was recorded in February 1984 — all of which was rain. That same month recorded an average temperate if 37.1°.

But are there any similarities? Well, somewhat. We did not see as much rain, but still a healthy dose — 3.21″ with an average temperature of 36.7°.

Some might ask, ‘what did the rest of winter look like in 1984?’ The following March received 13.7″ of snow, followed by another trace of snow in April. Does that mean we should expect measurable snow for March 2020? Not always. During our second snowless February in 1998, only 0.1″ of snow fell, and the following month saw just 0.3″ followed by a trace in April.

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Average February weather conditions

Our area’s historical weather data goes back to the early 1900s. Since then, the month of February averaged 10.1″ of snow. Some years saw little to no snow, like February 1984 and 2020. Other years, like February 2015 — commonly known as the “Snowblitz” — a total of 31.8″ of snow blanketed the region.