By Chuck Otte
County Extension Agent Retired
In spite of a couple of brief cold snaps, February was warm. If it hadn’t been for those cold snaps, February may have been the hottest or second hottest on record. On top of the warmer than average temperatures, we only received 30% of normal February precipitation. The average daily high for February was 55.5, 10.9 degrees above average. The average overnight low was 29.7, 7.3 degrees above average. This gave us a monthly mean temperature of 42.8, 9.3 degrees above average.
February 2026 was the fourth warmest February on record. The warmest February was in 1954 with a monthly mean temperature of 46.3. However, three of the four warmest Februaries on record have been 2024, 2017, and 2026. The coldest February was in 1979 with a bone chilling monthly mean temperature of 17.6 degrees. The highest temperature for the month was 78 degrees on the 9th. The coldest temperature was the morning low of 10 on the 1st. The high of 78 on the 9th broke the record high for that date. The old record was 76 set in 1976. The overnight low of 56 on the 17th set a new record high low temperature for that date. The old record was 52 set in 1997.
February 28th marks the end of meteorological winter (December through February). Long term average (1991 - 2020) winter temperature is 31.9 degrees. The winter of 2025-26 had an average temperature of 37.0 degrees. The means that the winter of 2025-26 is tied for the third warmest winter on record behind 1991-92 at 37.9 degrees and 1952-53 with 37.3 degrees. What should be more concerning is that the three winters that this winter tied with are, 2023-24, 2016-17, and 2005-06.
If you look at the ten warmest winters on record (Junction City/Milford Lake) , seven of them have been since 2000. If we take that a step further and look at the 30-year moving average (each year we drop off one year and add the latest year), average winter temperature has been steadily increasing. Since 1996 the average winter temperature has increased by three degrees.
February is our second driest month of the year. Average February liquid precipitation is 1.1 inches, and average snowfall is 4.7 inches. We managed just 1.1 inches of snow for February and a mere 0.33 inches of liquid precipitation. Thanks to the above average precipitation we received in January, however, we are right at our normal year to date precipitation. Normal for the first two months of the year is 1.83 inches and we have received 1.85 inches so far in 2026. We are slightly behind normal for snowfall, however. Average through February is 14.1 inches and we have received 10.8 inches for the current snowfall season.
March brings the start of meteorological spring on the 1st and astronomical spring on the 20th. March brings more hours of daylight and subsequently rising temperatures. Average daily highs for March start the month at 50 and by the 31st are up to 62. Average overnight low on the 1st is 26 degrees and by the end of the month has risen to 39 degrees. Long term average snowfall for March is 3.1 inches, although we are more likely to get thunderstorms during the month than snowstorms and average precipitation is 2.00 inches.