Just how early will spring 2013 arrive?

Let's all hope for plenty of T-Storms and rain for Feb 2013!

With all the talk about global warming a climate change, I had to wonder if perhaps I could hope for warmer weather hitting southwest Missouri perhaps a little earlier than it did last year in 2012. Back then, it was a pretty miserable month. Fifties, forties with a scattering of thirties defined the highs most days up until the 23^rd when it hit 73°F. Then, the temperatures moderated somewhat and hung out in the 60's. For anyone with an interest, February 2011 was no great shakes either. That year, the 3^rd saw a low that came darn close to zero degrees Fahrenheit! Then, on the tenth of that month, I awoke to a mercury reading that was in the negative numbers! So, I'd guess the moral is not to expect very much in the way of warmth for the second month of the year! The good news, however, is that even if we get clobbered with cold yet again, we only have to endure it for a few more weeks before things begin to improve. Following are the stats for the Forsyth, Missouri area for the last couple of years:

Feb 30 yr average = 36.9°F.

Feb 2011 = 37.8°F.

Feb 2012 = 41.3°F.

Note that although the weather was pretty cold both years, both were actually a tad warmer than average overall! (January 2013 came in 2.5 degrees warmer)!

Next, a topic of interest to many; rainfall. It's no secret that January was something of a disappointment coming in at just 1.4 inches here in Forsyth versus a thirty year average of 2.6 inches (West Plains). Here's the figures for both 2011 and 2012:

Feb rainfall avg = 3.0”

Feb rainfall 2011 = 3.59”

Feb rainfall 2012 = 2.74”

Thankfully, January came in about a third of an inch over the average thanks mainly to a heavy rain that occurred on the 29th, so we are OK in the YTD rainfall amounts.