NORFOLK, Va. — February 29 marked the end of meteorological winter. It was a day longer this time around thanks to the Leap Year.
For record-keeping purposes, meteorologists break down the seasons into 3-month blocks. So, how did the meteorological winter play out in Hampton Roads?
Overall, December through February was mild. Each month’s average temperature was slightly warmer than the 30-year average, but it was not to the point of getting into the Top 10 warmest territory. In fact, winter 2023-24 ranked as the 17th warmest on record with an average temperature of 46.6°.
For comparison, winter for 2022-23 was our 8th warmest.
Another way to look at temperatures is to compare the days in which the highs and lows were either warmer, cooler, or right in line with the 30-year averages. The majority of high temperatures came in warmer than usual, but not too far off from the days coming in cooler.
With low temperatures, things were slightly similar. Most overnight lows were warmer than average, with still a strong minority cooler.
Meteorological winter started out wet. This was Mother Nature balancing things out after a long stretch of drought. December came in as the second wettest on record... but the rest of the period was drier with January and February both seeing rainfall deficits.
Total rainfall came in just under 12”.
What was most notable about this winter: the lack of snow. We extend our snow drought to date to 781 days since any measurable snow was recorded at Norfolk International Airport. This is the second-longest snow drought on record, with no snow in sight.
