Record Warm Weekend Brings All-Time Warmest February Temperature for North Dakota

Linda Lam
Published: February 28,2016
Some impressive warmth was experienced in portions of the Plains and Midwest during the last weekend of February.
Warm temperatures were able to surge northward this weekend as the jet stream was located farther north into parts of Canada. Surface high pressure was located over the South, which brought a southwesterly flow across much of the Plains. These winds from the south and west allowed temperatures to climb well above average.
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One of the most notable records was set in Bismarck, North Dakota on Saturday. The mercury soared to 73 degrees during the afternoon, which is more than 40 degrees warmer than the average temperature of 32 degrees for the date. This not only set a daily record high for the city but also a record for the warmest February day.

In addition to setting a monthly record for Bismarck, the high of 73 degrees also set a record for warmest temperature recorded during the month of February for the entire state of North Dakota. The previous record for the state was 72 degrees which was set on Feb. 29, 1992, at Fort Yates and Breien.

Other Records Set The Last Weekend of February

Bismarck, North Dakota was not the only location that set records this weekend.
Daily record highs were broken or tied from Arizona to Michigan and a few other monthly warm temperature records were set as well.
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St. Cloud, Minnesota climbed to 59 degrees on Saturday which broke both a daily and a monthly record high for February. The previous warmest temperature recorded in February was 58 degrees set on the 27th in 1932.
A daily and monthly record high temperature was set in Mobridge, South Dakota on Saturday when the thermometer reached 73 degrees. The previous warmest temperature on record for February was 70 degrees set on Feb. 29, 1992.

Sioux City, Iowa came in with the second warmest February day on record. The high of 73 degrees did set a daily record, breaking the previous record set in 1895 by 7 degrees.
(MAPS: Weekly Planner)
The warmth continued on Sunday with highs up to 20 degrees above average for much of the Plains, Midwest and into portions of the Northeast. Highs topped out in the upper 50s and 60s with more than a dozen daily record highs set from Chicago and Milwaukee to Detroit, Erie, Pennsylvania and Binghamton, New York as of Sunday afternoon.
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