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Prepared by Florida Climate Center
The Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL

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February Key Points:

  • Warmer weather returned in February, with average temperatures above normal in Florida.
  • February was dry for much of Florida, with below normal monthly rainfall totals across the state.
  • The La Niña advisory remains in effect and is expected to continue through May 2022 (77% chance).
  • As of February 22, about 13% of the state is in moderate drought (D1) and 58% is experiencing abnormally dry conditions (D0), according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

 

Average temperatures in February were above normal in Florida. Average temperature departures from normal ranged from +0.2 ̊F in Key West to +3.9 ̊F in Tampa for the month (see Table 1 and Appendix 1 for select cities). Several stations recorded one of their top ten warmest months of February on record, including Jacksonville Beach (5th-warmest), Orlando (7th-warmest), Fort Myers (8th-warmest), and Fort Lauderdale (8th-warmest). Several daily temperature records were tied or broken throughout the month, including daily high maximum and high minimum temperatures (see appendices 2 and 3).

Table 1.  February average temperatures and departures from normal ( ̊F) for selected cities.

Station Mean Temperature Departure from Normal
Pensacola 57.4 +0.6
Tallahassee 56.3 +0.7
Jacksonville 58.8 +1.3
Orlando 67.0 +3.4
Tampa 68.6 +3.9
Miami 73.5 +2.8
Key West 72.5 +0.2 

 

Rainfall totals in February were below normal across the state. The monthly precipitation departures from normal ranged from -0.55 inches in Miami to -3.00 inches in Tallahassee (Table 2 and Appendix 1). Most places across the state recorded a precipitation deficit for the month, except for just a few places in south Florida (Figure 1). Crestview had its second driest February on record, and both Ocala and Apalachicola recorded their 4th-driest February on record. Rainfall deficits have resulted in abnormally dry conditions and the emergence of moderate drought conditions in parts of the western Peninsula (drought information below).

Table 2. February precipitation totals and departures from normal (inches) for selected cities.

Station Total Rainfall Departure from Normal
Pensacola 2.78 -1.99
Tallahassee 1.28 -3.00
Jacksonville 2.09 -0.77
Orlando 0.71 -1.33
Tampa 0.62 -2.00
Miami 1.60 -0.55
Key West 1.35 -0.19 

 

Figure 1. A graphical depiction of the monthly rainfall departure from normal (inches) for February (courtesy of NOAA, NWS).

Figure 1.  A graphical depiction of the monthly rainfall departure from normal (inches) for February (courtesy of NOAA, NWS).

 

La Niña Advisory Continues.

La Niña conditions, the cool phase of the ENSO climate pattern, continued in the tropical Pacific Ocean in February. Below-average sea surface temperatures weakened during January, but most of the weekly ENSO indices remained between -0.5 ̊ C and -1.0 ̊ C. Overall, the coupled ocean-atmosphere system reflected a weakening La Niña. According to the latest official NWS update, La Niña is likely to continue into the Northern Hemisphere spring, with a 77% chance of persisting through May 2022. It is likely to then transition to ENSO-neutral in late spring or summer (56% chance during May-July 2022).

 

Hazardous Weather Events in February.

According to the Local Storm Reports issued by the local National Weather Service offices serving Florida, there were 21 individual local reports of hazardous weather events recorded across the state during the month of February 2022 (see Table 4 for a breakdown by event type). Though there were few severe weather events during the month, several fatalities occurred. Strong rip currents at Fort Lauderdale Beach led to two injuries and one fatality on the 7th. Later in the month, dense fog led to three fatalities resulting from two car accidents in Flagler County on the 25th.

 

Table 4. Breakdown of storm reports submitted in Florida during the month of February (compiled from Iowa State University/Iowa Environmental Mesonet).

Report Type Number of Reports
Flash Flood 0
Heavy Rain 0
Dense Fog 1
Marine Thunderstorm Wind 3
Non-Thunderstorm Wind Gust 10
Non-Thunderstorm Wind Damage 0
Tornado/Waterspout/Funnel Cloud 0/1/0
Thunderstorm Wind Damage 0
Thunderstorm Wind Gust 4
Rip Currents 2

 

Drought-Related Impacts.

By mid-February, abnormally dry conditions (D0) were affecting 53% of the state, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Affected areas included the central and western Panhandle and Big Bend regions, as well as much of northern and western Florida. This was an increase from 17% of the state in abnormally dry conditions and 1.4% of the western Panhandle in moderate drought at the beginning of the month. Near the end of the month, moderate drought (D1) emerged across the north-west portions of the Peninsula and re-emerged in the extreme western Panhandle (13% area total), while 58% of the state was abnormally dry (Figure 2).

As of February 28, the Lake Okeechobee water level was 14.58 ft. above sea level (Feet-NGVD29), which is about average for this time of the year. The water level remained above average but declined throughout the month. At the first of the month, the water level was around 14.91 ft. above sea level.

 

drought monitor

 

Agriculture-Related Impacts.

During the month of February, damage to crops and pasture were seen early in the month due to frosts. Pasture conditions were degraded to mostly poor and fair conditions. However, cattle remained in mostly good condition due to supplemental feedings. Sugarcane crop exhibited signs of leaf burn. Strawberry harvest continued, and several citrus and vegetable crops were marketed including white and red grapefruit, tangerines, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, sweet corn, green beans, avocadoes, and others. For more information, consult the Crop Progress - State Stories reports, which are produced monthly December through March.

 

Appendix 1
Additional February departures from normal data for select Florida locations (Source: NWS).

Station Average Temperature (˚F) Departure from Normal (˚F) Total Rainfall (in.) Departure from Normal (in.)
Gainesville 60.3 +1.9 1.56 -1.11
Sarasota 66.4 +1.6 0.71 -1.21
Melbourne 66.2 +0.8 0.79 -1.19
Fort Myers 71.1 +3.8 0.48 -1.30
West Palm Beach 72.1 +3.7 1.97 -0.66

 

Appendix 2
Select daily record high maximum temperatures broken or tied during February (compiled from NOAA).

Location Date Record (˚F) Broken/Tied Last
Tampa 3 85 Broken 84 in 2016
Gainesville 4 83 Broken 82 in 2014
Orlando 4 87 Broken 86 in 2014
Key West 4 85 Broken 83 in 2020
Lakeland 4 86 Broken 85 in 1989
Clermont 5 87 Broken 86 in 2014
Jacksonville Beach 5 82 Broken 80 in 1997
Key West 8 86 Broken 83 in 2014
Tampa 16 84 Tied 84 in 1989
Tarpon Springs 17 85 Tied 85 in 2019
Tampa 17 86 Broken 83 in 1995
Clermont 18 88 Tied 88 in 2019
Perry 18 83 Broken 82 in 1995
Orlando 18 87 Tied 87 in 2021
Tarpon Springs 22 87 Broken 86 in 1997
Key West 22 86 Broken 85 in 2019
Fort Myers 23 89 Tied 89 in 1962
Tallahassee 23 83 Tied 83 in 2019
Tampa 24 86 Broken 85 in 2001
Key West 24 88 Broken 86 in 2019
Jacksonville Beach 25 87 Broken 82 in 2017
Miles City 25 88 Tied 88 in 2018
Gainesville 25 87 Broken 85 in 2018
Daytona Beach 25 87 Broken 86 in 2001
Fort Myers 26 89 Broken 87 in 1971

 

Appendix 3
Select daily record high minimum temperatures broken or tied during February (compiled from NOAA).

Location Date Record (˚F) Broken/Tied Last
Jacksonville Beach 4 68 Broken 64 in 1990
Quincy 4 64 Broken 61 in 2014
Wewahitchka 4 65 Broken 64 in 1990
Key West 4 77 Broken 76 in 2014
Fort Pierce 17 69 Tied 69 in 1981
Stuart 17 70 Tied 70 in 1984
Miami 17 72 Tied 72 in 2021
Key West 17 76 Tied 76 in 1975
Daytona Beach 18 67 Broken 66 in 2019
Mayport 18 63 Broken 62 in 2019
Orlando 18 68 Broken 65 in 2021
Daytona Beach 18 69 Broken 66 in 1990
Orlando 18 70 Broken 67 in 2019
Jacksonville 18 66 Broken 65 in 2019
Clermont 19 70 Broken 66 in 1992
Sanford 19 68 Broken 65 in 2012
Fort Pierce 23 71 Tied 71 in 2018
Jacksonville Beach 23 68 Broken 66 in 2013
Tampa 23 70 Broken 69 in 2019
Jacksonville Beach 24 69 Broken 67 in 2012
Pensacola 24 65 Broken 64 in 1949
Jacksonville Beach 25 70 Broken 62 in 2011
Jacksonville Beach 26 67 Broken 64 in 1992
Fort Lauderdale Beach 27 72 Tied 72 in 2013
Jacksonville Beach 27 68 Broken 64 in 1971
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