Some February Snow Notes

Brian Peters | February 24, 2015 @ 3:37 pm

Okay, I just had to do it. So the forecast is calling for a snow event in Central Alabama. So, using National Weather Service (NWS) data for the Birmingham Shuttlesworth International Airport, just how much has it snowed in Februarys past?

The answer to that is that since 1900, there have been only nine (9) days in the month of February in which 1 inch or more of snowfall has been recorded. The picture looks like this in order by amounts from highest to lowest.

Rank	Date	Snowfall
1.	Feb. 23, 1901	5.0″
2.	Feb. 12, 2014	3.0″
3.	Feb. 13, 1960	2.3″
4.	Feb. 13, 1905	2.0″
5.	Feb. 28, 1941	2.0″
6.	Feb. 20, 1941	1.5″
7.	Feb. 15, 1958	1.2″
8.	Feb. 10, 1912	1.1″
9.	Feb. 14, 1958	1.0″

It is interesting to note that snow has been recorded only once on February 25th, and that was in 1914 when 4 tenths of an inch was reported. We’ll have to see what goes in the record books for 2015. Stay warm!

-Brian-

Note: Thanks to all of those who reminded me about February, 2014. Indeed, the climate database online maintained by the NWS had an error in the snowfall reports. I’ve taken steps to correct the error.

Category: Alabama's Weather, Winter Weather

About the Author (Author Profile)

Brian Peters is one of the television meteorologists at ABC3340 in Birmingham and a retired NWS Warning Coordination Meteorologist. He handles the weekend Weather Xtreme Videos and forecast discussion and is the Webmaster for the popular WeatherBrains podcast.