Historically mild February leaves Pittsburgh region with barely a trace of snow

February did not make Pittsburgh shiver.

Generally, February is the region’s second snowiest month of the year. Not this year.

Just 0.2 inches of snow accumulated over February in the Pittsburgh region. With highs reaching above 50 degrees Tuesday, the month ended as the least snowy February in Pittsburgh history, according to the National Weather Service.

Lee Hendricks at the Pittsburgh office of the National Weather Service said the current record for the least snowy February came in 1909 when the region saw just half an inch of snowfall. The second was in 1884 when the region saw 0.6 inches of snow in February.

Attached below is the monthly climate summary for February 2023.
As you can see, it was a very mild month with the average temperature being 8.3 degrees or above! pic.twitter.com/cHhLsGPTDG

— NWS Pittsburgh (@NWSPittsburgh) March 1, 2023

In addition to seeing barely any snow this February, Hendricks said the region also is seeing less rain this month than is normal. Less than 1.5 inches of rain has fallen in February, which is about 1.3 inches less than normal, Hendricks said.

Combine that with average daily temperatures about 8 degrees higher than normal, and this winter in Pittsburgh has been extremely mild.

Hendricks said the average high temperature in February was 51 degrees and the average low was 28.2 degrees. February’s average daily high temperature in Pittsburgh this month exceeded historical averages for 25 days. Only three days in February saw daily highs below average, and all were at the start of the month.

He said the mild winter is being caused by a strong La Niña weather system from the Pacific Ocean. The La Niña pattern occurs when trade winds in the Pacific Ocean are even stronger than usual, pushing more warm water toward Asia, according to the National Ocean Service. This in turn causes more upwelling on the Pacific Coast of the U.S. and pushes the jet stream more northern than usual.

La Niña results in colder and wetter temperatures for much of the western U.S. — evident by recent snowfall near the California coast — and warmer than average temperatures for the southern U.S. and the East Coast.

“La Niña is hitting us real good with a really mild February,” Hendricks said.

The lack of snow this winter places Pittsburgh well below average for a typical snow season so far. By the end of February, the region typically has accumulated about 35 inches of snow, according to the National Weather Service.

This season, the Pittsburgh region has accumulated only 14.5 inches of snowfall. The lowest amount of snowfall for a winter season through February in Pittsburgh history came in 1931-32, when the region only saw 4 inches of snowfall.

Low amounts of snowfall have occurred all across the Eastern Seaboard this season, said Alan Reppert, senior meteorologist at the Pennsylvania-based AccuWeather. And that trend likely will continue.

“Much of Pennsylvania and even the mid-Atlantic has seen little in the way of snow, and that looks to continue for the next few days at least,” Reppert said. “The pattern of little snow looks to continue into the middle of March as snow will struggle to occur over the area.”

Hendricks said the current outlook for March and beyond in Pittsburgh will keep temperatures at and above yearly averages. He said March could see snow, but with the temperatures the region is seeing, it is not very likely.

However, Hendricks said the outlook for March and spring is for above-average precipitation. He reminded Pittsburghers to get their umbrellas ready.

“Nature will probably get even with us,” Hendricks said. “She likes a balance.”