Wisconsin is experiencing a historic lack of snow this month

With high temperatures in at least the upper 30s (and some days as high as the 50s) each day since the month began, this has been the warmest start to February on record in Milwaukee.

Thursday and Friday, Milwaukee set record high temperatures for the day of 59 degrees and 54 degrees, respectively, according to data from the Wisconsin State Climatology Office. We also set a record high for Feb. 1 of 49 degrees.

For reference, normal high temperatures this time of year are between 31 and 33 degrees.

However, this month isn't just unique for its unseasonably warm temps. This is also only the third time — since at least 1871 when the NWS began keeping records — that Milwaukee hasn't seen any snowfall in February through the 12th of the month, said local National Weather Service meteorologist Andy Boxell.

The other two times this happened, 1987 and 1991, the city received snow by Feb. 14, he added.

With low temps below freezing, there is a slight possibility we could see a few flurries Tuesday, Boxell said, however, "if we make it through today and tomorrow (Wednesday), ... this would become the least snow this far into February and the only time on record that we've seen no snow through Feb. 14."

The last time Milwaukee saw snowfall this winter was Jan. 28. Even when it comes to rain, this February has been virtually dry.

"We've been in a warm, relatively dry pattern," Boxell said. "We've only had four-hundredths of an inch of liquid this month. Just a little bit of rain on Feb. 8."

Will it snow this week in Milwaukee?

Milwaukee's snowless streak is expected to come to an end early Thursday morning. Wet snow or a rain-snow mix is in the forecast, along with a high of 37 and a low below freezing.

"We're talking maybe a couple of inches at most, but the planning is not ideal in the sense that it would be a pretty quick but intense snow band moving through in the pre-dawn hours Thursday morning," Boxell said. "So, it could affect that morning rush hour."

Over the weekend, temperatures could also be conducive to snowfall on Friday and Saturday, but it's less likely. "Temperatures will turn back colder over the weekend into the high 20s and 30s," Boxell said. "Friday and Saturday are actually below average for a change."

How much has it snowed in Milwaukee this winter?

From Dec. 1 through Feb. 12 this winter, Milwaukee has received 16.2 inches of snow, Boxell said. Average winter snowfall by this time of year is nearly double that ― 30.5 inches.

Why has this winter been so warm in Milwaukee?

The primary culprit for the unseasonably warm winter we've seen this season in Milwaukee and across the Midwest is a weather phenomenon known as El Niño.

During an El Niño event, the ocean warms to above-average sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean. In general, El Niño creates conditions favorable for a warmer temperature pattern across the Great Lakes region, Boxell explained. Winters with moderate-to-strong El Niño effects also tend to see below-average snowfall.

These warm temperatures have had multiple strange effects on southern Wisconsin.

Feb. 8 saw the state's first-ever February tornado, spun up in part due to a combination of the record-breaking high temperatures at the end of the week and a cold front over the weekend.

On a more positive note, Milwaukee County Parks reopened its Grant Park Golf Course through at least Wednesday, Feb. 14, due to the warm weather and lack of snow.

More: Milwaukee hit an all-time record high temperature today - and it might get warmer

More: MPS students will have to make up time they missed for snow days, extreme cold, in January

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Why hasn't it been snowing this year in Wisconsin?