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Nice weather for me!!!! The nights are a little bit too cold, but other then that it's great in the daytime.
Of course I will be really p*ssed if it gets cold again in March!!!!
What happened to spring? February 2016 second warmest ever for Phoenix area Weldon B. Johnson, The Republic | azcentral.com 7:03 p.m. MST February 29, 2016 In February, 20 out of 29 days were over 80 degrees. We can complain about a month that was so hot, so early in the year it riled up the Phoenix area’s population of rattlesnakes and scorpions out of their winter slumber about two months early. [I haven't seen any rattlesnakes or scorpions, but of course it's too cold for rattlesnakes to come out at night, and I haven't been bring my blacklight with me to spot the scorpions] Or we can just relax and say we were part of history. February 2016 was one for the record books Included among the records set in Phoenix during the month were: The earliest ever 90-degree high temperature, which happened Feb. 17 this year. The previous record was Feb. 24, 1986. Twenty days with a high of at least 80 degrees. The old record for the month was 15. Seven daily high temperature records, including a Leap day mark of 88 degrees Monday. An average high temperature of 79.9 degrees which tops the mark of 78.7 set in 1991. There was no measurable rain in Phoenix this February , which ties a low point reached six other times. The month will go down as the second-warmest on record The average temperature for the month was 65.8 degrees. Average temperature, derived by adding the daily high and low temperatures and dividing by two, is the statistic most often used by climate scientists when determining the warmest months and years on record. The warmest February since National Weather Service records were first kept in 1896 was 1991 with an average temperature of 66 degrees. Three of the top four warmest Februaries have occurred in the past three years as 2015 (65.6 degrees) and 2014 (64.4) are third and fourth on the all-time list. The only thing keeping the month from surpassing 1991 on the all-time list were overnight low temperatures that weren’t quite as impressive as the daytime highs. The average low temperature for the month was 51.6 degrees, which tied for sixth on the all-time list. The low temperature average for 1991 was 53.2 degrees, which places second to the 53.8 average in 2015. The month started off cooler than normal with high temperatures Feb. 1 and 2 topping out at 55 degrees. The temperature climbed to 85 by Feb. 8 when a string of 15 days of 80-degree highs began. Reason behind the heat: high pressure The cause of the heat was a persistent strong ridge of high-pressure ridge that set up over the Southwest. “That upper-level high was dominant most days,” said James Sawtelle, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Phoenix. “It varied in strength, but it generally was large and in charge for the most part. That causes the storm tracks and the colder air to stay to the north.” High-pressure areas mean clear skies, which combine with other factors to allow more opportunity for solar heating to drive up temperatures. Sawtelle said while the persistent high was unusually strong, its presence wasn’t that unusual for the area even at this time of year. “It’s known to happen,” Sawtelle said. “If the Southwest U.S. was famous for having a semi-permanent low-pressure trough (which often brings rain), than south-central Arizona wouldn’t be as dry as it is.” |