On the state level, New Mexico experienced its seventh wettest February on record.The Northwest, West North Central, East North Central, and Central climate regions each had below-normal February precipitation. Regionally, an active weather pattern in the South, Southwest, and Northeast created an above-normal precipitation for the month.February precipitation, averaged across the contiguous U.S., was slightly below the long-term average, at 1.90 inches.In contrast to this national trend, Maine experienced their third warmest such period. For the winter season (December through February), nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of the contiguous states experienced below normal temperatures.It was the seventh coldest February in Arkansas, while both Mississippi and South Carolina experienced their eighth coldest. Florida had its fourth coldest, Louisiana its fifth coldest, and Alabama, Georgia, and Texas each had their sixth coldest. Several southern states had an average temperature that ranked among their ten coldest for February.Meanwhile, upper-level patterns contributed to warmer-than-average temperatures in the Northwest and Northeast climate regions. Both the South and Southeast climate regions experienced their seventh coldest February on record. during February, creating temperatures that were much-below average in the Deep South and below average in the Plains and Mid-Atlantic States. Cold air in the wake of several reinforcing Arctic air masses dominated much of the U.S.The February 2010 temperature for the contiguous United States was 32.4 degrees F, which is 2.2 degrees below the long-term average.

February precipitation totals