February made us shiver
By Terry Murry on Tuesday, March 2nd, 2021 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
PENDLETON – The snow last month did not set a record at the Pendleton airport, but it came close.
“The snowfall totaled 20.8 inches,” National Weather Service Meteorologist Marc Austin said. “We had at least an inch of snow on 11 of the days of February. The heaviest snow was 4.5 inches on the 14th.”
That would make it the second snowiest February of all time.
“The first highest was just two years ago,” Austin said. “It was 32.5 inches in 2019.”
Regional temperatures were chilly in February. Readings averaged 3.6 degrees below normal at Pendleton, 1 degree below normal in Hermiston, and 4.3 degrees below normal in Walla Walla.
The extra snow in Pendleton appears to have given it a boost in precipitation averages in February. That location finished the month one inch above normal. Hermiston measured 0.61 below average. Walla Walla saw 0.26 under the norm.
Precipitation for the year is down 1.43 inches in Walla Walla, and 1.34 inches in Hermiston. Pendleton is .48 of an inch above normal.
