February Weather: What Changes You Can Typically Expect

February Weather: Here’s What To Expect

February may be the month of love, but will you love the weather that comes with it?

Winter keeps a firm grasp on February with major winter storms and chilly morning lows. But signs of spring start to peek through too — bringing hope of warmer weather and longer days.

Here’s what you can expect for the month ahead:

Snow Stays On The Scene

February is the snowiest month of the year in some locations from the Northeast to the Plains and West.

Many major Northeast snowstorms occur in February. It's the snowiest month along the Interstate 95 corridor from Boston (average of 14.4 inches) to Washington, D.C. (5 inches).

It’s also the snowiest month in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains. Tahoe City averages about 3.5 feet of snow each February.

But the rest of the country isn't immune to some messy wintry precipitation. February can also bring ice storms as cold air rides over pockets of warm and rainy weather across the South.

(MORE: Why The South Sees More Ice Storms)

Temperatures Slowly Warm Up

Good news — the heart of winter, in terms of temperatures, has passed for most of the United States as February begins.

For most locations east of the Mississippi River, the coldest time of year is in January, while much of the West gets the coldest temperatures in December.

Average highs begin to warm slightly in February, but remain chilly overall. Teens become more confined to northern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota, while 60s expand into more of the South and into central California. Average highs in the 70s return to parts of the Southwest.

Signs of spring start to emerge due to these warmer temperatures, including flowers blooming in some areas.

Average low temperatures are in the single digits above or below zero in parts of the northern Plains and upper Midwest in February. Average lows in the 50s return to Florida and coastal Texas.

Tornado Risk Area Expands

The area at higher risk for tornadoes grows from January to February as the jet stream begins to shift.

Warm, humid air from the Gulf surges north as low-pressure systems track eastward across the U.S., setting the scene for severe weather.

On average, around 40 tornadoes occur in the U.S. in February, making it among the fewest of any month.

But, as always with tornado counts, there is substantial year-to-year variability. In 2008, the U.S. had 147 confirmed February tornadoes, and there were 59 deaths from those storms. Winter tornadoes can be particularly dangerous because they are often fast-moving, hard to see and/or happen at night.

February 2023’s oddities included a rare New Jersey tornado on Feb. 21 (EF2 in Mercer County), and the most February tornadoes on record in Oklahoma (11), all of which happened on Feb. 26.

February 2024 saw tornadoes touch down in a dozen states, but the number of tornadoes was near average. The tornadoes that did occur, were in some odd places. Wisconsin had its first-ever February tornado and its first-on-record strong tornado.

The Days Get Longer

We may have saved the best for last. Daylight hours increase as the darkness of winter begins to lift, regardless of what weather we see in February.

Much of the U.S. sees about an hour of additional daylight from the beginning of February until the end of the month.

Areas farther north experience the largest increase. The Northeast and Midwest see about an hour and 15 minutes more daylight by March 1 compared to the end of January, while the Pacific Northwest sees an increase closer to an hour and a half.

The increase in daylight is an average of 40 to 50 minutes across the southern tier of the Lower 48. However, farther north in Alaska, Fairbanks experiences an increase in daylight of more than three hours.

Caitlin Kaiser graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with both an undergraduate and graduate degree in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences before starting her career as a digital meteorologist with weather.com.