The month of February produced windy, warmer than normal, and near record dry conditions for Missouri.
Steve Lindenberg is a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Springfield.
“In fact we had quite a bit of fire weather days because of the dry conditions that we had over the last couple of months but Springfield and Joplin both were in the top ten driest for the month of February on record."
Springfield had just over one-third of an inch of precipitation, which is more than two inches below normal.
Lindenberg also said that southwest Missouri had some of the warmest temperatures in February. Springfield’s highest temperature in February reached 77 degrees, while Joplin’s was 78. The average high for both cities for the month was 53.5 and 55.6, respectively.
“When we get in a pattern like we’ve been in for the winter months, it keeps the colder air further to the north and we stay in this warmer pattern which we’ve seen in the last couple of months," Lindenberg said.
View the southwest Missouri February climate report from the National Weather Service here.
