February, Even Winter, Warm Temperature Records Smashed In the Plains, Midwest

All-time February, even winter, record highs were shattered in dozens of cities in the Plains and Midwest from Texas to the Great Lakes. This late winter surge of heat caps one of the warmest winters in the Midwest and Northeast.

H​ere is a recap of the most eye-popping standards that were smashed during this - well - winter heat wave.

F​ebruary state records: According to weather historian Christopher Burt, five states tied or set their warmest February temperatures on record.

-​ Arkansas: 90 degrees at Texarkana

-​ Illinois: 86 degrees at the St. Louis Downtown Airport in Cahokia.

-​ Michigan: 75 degrees at the Saginaw County H.W. Browne Airport

-​ Missouri: 90 degrees at Van Buren

-​ Wisconsin: 77 degrees in Kenosha

I​n addition, the NWS-Green Bay observed the warmest February temperature in its forecast area of northeast Wisconsin, where several locations soared to 72 degrees Tuesday. That was the first February 70s on record in northeast Wisconsin.

W​inter records: By our count, 56 cities with data since the 1960s or earlier tied or set new record highs not just for February, but for any winter day from December through February.

T​hat included virtually every major reporting station in Lower Michigan and most of Wisconsin except the state's northwest quarter.

In Michigan, Grand Rapids (73) and Saginaw (73) each had their first winter day in the 70s, while Traverse City (73) obliterated its previous winter record by 7 degrees.

G​reen Bay and Madison, Wisconsin, each had their first winter high of 70 degrees.

O​maha, Nebraska; Quincy and Springfield, Illinois, each reached 80 degrees for the first time in any winter day.

Moline, Illinois, shattered their winter record high two days in a row, reaching 76 degrees on Feb. 26, then 79 degrees the following day. Dubuque, Iowa (72 degrees each day) also accomplished that feat two straight days.

I​n the Southern Plains, Texarkana, Arkansas, had its first 90-degree winter high on record. Abilene, Texas, tied its February and winter record, soaring to 94 degrees.

Among the dozens other cities that set new winter records were Des Moines (78), Minneapolis (65), St. Louis (86) and Toledo, Ohio (73).

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D​allas-Ft. Worth International Airport soared to a high of 94 degrees on Feb. 26. Only two other days in were at least as hot so early in the year in the Metroplex, in Feb. 1996 and Feb. 1904.

W​hat month was it? Needless to say, it didn't feel like February.

F​or instance, in Green Bay, Wisconsin, a mid-60s high is the average in mid-May. In St. Louis, an 80-degree high is the norm around Memorial Day. A high in the low-mid 90s is typical of mid-June into July in Dallas-Fort Worth.

S​o you can understand if some will be a bit confused with this warmth in late February.

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Record-warm winter: This put an exclamation point on one of the warmest winters on record in the upper Midwest and Northeast.

T​hrough the first three weeks of February, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin were solidly on pace for their warmest December-February period dating to the late 19th century. Other Midwest and Northeast states were targeting their top-five warmest winters.

Over 20 cities – mainly in the Midwest and Northeast – were also trending to their warmest winter in 2023-24.

One reason: the strong El Niño that has been in place. Warmer winters are typical across the northern tier of states during a strong El Niño.

T​here's also been a lack of persistent blocking patterns – such as the Greenland block – that pull cold air from Canada and lock it into the U.S. for longer than a few days. Instead, blocking high pressure has been over central and eastern Canada, keeping the Midwest and Northeast persistently much warmer than usual and keeping our source of cold air (Canada) warmer than usual.

F​inally, winter has been the fastest-warming season in most of the U.S. since 1970, according to a study from Climate Central. They found that especially true in the Great Lakes and Northeast. That includes shorter cold snaps, less extreme cold and more unusually warm winter days now than before 1970.

M​ORE ON WEATHER.COM:

-​ Earth's Record-Warmest January Was 2024

-​ Leaving Forests To Grow Could Have Big Climate Impact, Study Shows

-​ New Research Points To El Niño-Climate Change Connection

-​ What Spring Is Like After A Strong El Niño

Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at weather.com and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. His lifelong love of meteorology began with a close encounter with a tornado as a child in Wisconsin. He completed a Bachelor's degree in physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, then a Master's degree working with dual-polarization radar and lightning data at Colorado State University. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on X (formerly Twitter), Threads, Facebook and Bluesky.

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