50s in February

As we look ahead to the first 50° high temperature for the month of February since 2013, we look back at the warmest February days on record, specifically the last ten years to find out if surging at least 20 degrees above normal is typical for Michiana to see each February.

Since 2006, we saw at least one 50° day for 6 out of those 10 Februaries.  However, 4 out of the last 10 Februaries struck out in reaching into the 50s.  Here's the breakdown by the number of days per February since 2006:

 

Notice that February 2009 saw the most days with highs at least 50° with 6 out of 28 days.  Now, let's take those same Februaries and replace the number of days with the actual highest maximum temperature for that February:

The average normal high for the month of February for South Bend is 35°.  Back to February 2009 with 6 days reaching at least 50°, it reached it's warmest temperature of 62° on February 10th.  Even though 2009 had the most number of days above 50°, February 2012 tops 2009 with the highest temperature of 66°, which was achieved on leap day that year.

However, what are the warmest temperatures ever reached in South Bend for the month of February? Here's the answer below:

The most recent warmest February day rounds out the top 5 with 66° in 2012 (as previously mentioned, on leap day of that year).  If you were wondering if we've ever surged into the 70s, we did twice, one year after another.  The official warmest February day was on February 25th, 2000 when we reached 74°.  Meanwhile, the year before also surged into the lower 70s.  The second warmest February day on record was February 11th, 1999 when we reached 72°.

This Friday, the forecasted high temperature as of Wednesday, February 17th is 52°.  As shown below, there's no doubt it will be unseasonably warm, however, it is safe to say that it will not be record-breaking. 

As always you can stick with ABC-57 News on the air, online, and on social media for the very latest updates to your forecast.