PENNSYLVANIA, USA — February may be the shortest month, but it was certainly an active 28 days of weather filled with ice and snow squalls.
- We hit 60 degrees three times in February in the Scranton area and twice in Williamsport.
- Friday, February 18, was the warmest day this month, with 61 degrees at both the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport and Williamsport Regional Airport.
- In Scranton, the coldest morning was on February 6t with a low of just 7 degrees at the airport near Avoca.
- We had single-digit lows four times throughout February in northeastern Pennsylvania.
- In Williamsport, the coldest morning was the morning of February 1, with a low of 5 degrees.
- In central Pennsylvania, we woke up to single-digit lows three times this month.
We didn't get a whole lot of snow this month here. In fact, both the Scranton and Williamsport Areas only picked up about two and a half inches of snow for the entire month of February.
The bigger story this month was the ice.
- On Thursday, February 3, it rained and rained and rained, and then overnight, that rain changed to ice, and by Friday morning, February 4, we woke up covered in it. Department of Public Works crews told Newswatch 16 it was one of the more unique storms they've ever seen. The ice even postponed the start of the Scranton Ice Festival.
Another big story this month was the day of the snow squalls.
- On February 19, the Saturday of Presidents Day weekend, snow squalls created rapidly changing conditions across northeastern and central Pennsylvania. The squalls moved in from the west late morning, and by the afternoon, there was a 50-vehicle pileup on Interstate 81 in Schuylkill County. State police say the intense snow squall created zero visibility, and the initial crash involved three trucks and ten passenger vehicles. Four more crashes happened in the backlog. Five people were taken to the hospital, but none of the injuries was serious.
Looking ahead to March, we have St. Patrick's Parade days to look forward to, along with Daylight Saving Time starting on March 13, the first day of spring. But as we all know, we've also had blizzards in the month of March, so maybe keep those shovels handy a while longer.
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