February of 1998 will go into the record books as one of the warmest ever. The preliminary state-wide average temperature for the month was 28.0, a whopping 14.9 degrees above the historical normal. An average temperature of 28.0 degrees ties February, 1998 with February, 1987 as the second warmest in post-settlement history.

The warmest February temperatures in Minnesota's state-wide record are:

An asterisk (*) indicates an El Niño winter. Note that the five warmest Februarys in the state-wide Minnesota database have occurred during El Niño episodes.

The 1998 data offered above are preliminary and subject to change. However, it is reasonable to expect the final data summary to indicate that February of 1998 will rank with the warmest in Minnesota's recorded history.

Many Minnesota communities reported record or near record temperatures in February. Dr. Mark Seeley of the University of Minnesota compiled the following list. These data are preliminary.

Station        Mean Feb Temp   Historical Ranking
Location           deg F       for period of record
------------------------------------------------------------------
Crookston         26.2         New record, old 25.6 F in 1931
Fargo-Moorhead    28.0         New record, old 27.5 in 1987
Warroad           25.5         New record, old 23.2 in 1954
Grand Rapids      30.0         New record, old 25.4 in 1987
Inter'l Falls     27.2         New record, old 23.5 in 1987
Itasca St Park    28.0         New record, old 25.9 in 1987
Duluth            28.8         3rd warmest, record is 31.4 in 1877
Hibbing           28.5         New record, old 22.9 in 1987
Alexandria        27.6         2nd warmest, record 28.5 in 1987
Canby             31.4         3rd warmest, record is 33.5 in 1954
Montevideo        29.4         3rd warmest, record is 33.6 in 1987
Morris            27.4         4th warmest, record is 29.5 in 1987
St Cloud          29.6         New record, old 28.9 in 1987
Willmar           28.1         4th warmest, record is 30.8 in 1987
Aitkin            28.8         New record, old 24.6 in 1984
Cambridge         29.0         2nd warmest, record is 30.4 in 1987
MSP airport       31.9         2nd warmest, record is 32.0 in 1931
Pipestone         30.2         2nd warmest, record is 32.3 in 1931
Redwood Falls     29.8         3rd warmest, record is 32.3 in 1987
Worthington       30.2         4th warmest, record is 33.9 in 1931
Faribault         30.8         3rd warmest, record is 33.5 in 1954
Waseca            29.6         3rd warmest, record is 33.2 in 1954
Winnebago         29.8         4th warmest, record is 32.8 in 1931
Caledonia         32.2         New record, old 27.9 in 1984
La Crosse, WI     33.7         4th warmest, record is 34.1 in 1877
Rochester         29.4         3rd warmest, record is 31.8 in 1954
Rosemount         30.7         2nd warmest, record is 31.2 in 1987, 1954
Winona            33.2         2nd warmest, record is 33.7 in 1954

For further information about February's weather, see the community-specific February reports offered in our Updated Day-to-Day Climate Data section.

As the result of the warm temperatures and light snowfall, many areas of Minnesota reported little or no snow cover by late February. Northern Minnesota communities like International Falls and Hibbing reported a trace of snow on the ground in late February. Historically, late February is the point of the winter season when the maximum snow depth is reached. Weekly snow depth maps are availble from this Web site.

Minnesota Climatology Working Group Page

mcwg@soils.umn.edu
URL: http://climate.umn.edu/doc/journal/warmfeb98.htm
Last modified: March 6, 1998