Despite brief cold snap, February in Des Moines could be one of warmest on record
After a frigid January that had the second-most snow on record for the month in Des Moines, could February be headed toward the opposite extreme?
Saturday's high was just 30 degrees, and the low was 6 degrees. But those were by far the lowest figures for the month to date, and Sunday is forecast to see a return to highs in the 40s, followed by even higher temperatures later in the week.
According to the National Weather Service, despite the brief return to seasonal temperatures and Friday's snow. another balmy week on top of the unseasonal warmth the city has enjoyed for most of the month could put Des Moines on track for one of its warmest Februarys on record.
The all-time warmest was in 2017, with an average temperature of 39.2 degrees. National Weather Service records show. The second-warmest came in 1930, with an average of 38.1 degrees and a still-record daily high of 78 degrees.
Through Friday, this month’s average was 39.1 degrees, said Roger Vachalek, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Des Moines.
“As it stands, because our temperatures are creeping down here the past two days, that that's gonna knock that average down a little bit,” Vachalek said Saturday. “The potential, maybe, (is that) we’ll come within about the fourth highest for February if we remain on track here without any major warmups at the end of the month.”
Vachalek said the determining factor could be the last four or five days of this leap-year February, which remains too far out to reliably forecast.
It’s also too soon to say whether the groundhog’s prediction of an early spring is correct. Spring is set to start March 19 – just 30 days from now. But Vachalek said there's still a mass of cold air in the northern hemisphere, and due to its presence, temperatures cannot be properly predicted.
More: Enjoy the warmer weather in Des Moines while you can. 'Winter-like weather' is back by mid-week
The outlook for March, he said, “calls for equal chances for above- and below-normal temperatures."
Despite the uncertainty regarding weather patterns, Vachalek said February has still been exceptionally warm.
“I don't want to give the impression that we're definitely going to break our record,” he said. “We’ll definitely come very close to it. If you're within the top four or five of the record, that's still pretty, pretty close.”
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Weather Service says February in Des Moines could be one of warmest
