Sheldon, Iowa — February’s moisture was above normal according the weather data ascertained daily by KIWA in downtown Sheldon.
The normal liquid content to the precipitation in the month of February is 76 hundredths of an inch, and the total liquid precipitation content for the month of February 2023 was 1.31 inches. This excess of moisture brought the moisture for the year to 3.07 inches, which is 1.66 inches more than the normal year to date precipitation. The wettest day of February 2023 was the 15th, where Sheldon received a trace of snow, but primarily rain, amounting to 68 hundredths of an inch. The 15th was one of three times when there was measurable moisture for the month of February. Although Sheldon did receive more moisture than normal for the month of February, and is above normal for 2023 year to date, 2022 ended 8.21 inches below normal.
The month of February only showed one day where there was measurable snowfall in downtown Sheldon. On the 23rd, KIWA reported five inches of snow, which did not have much moisture content, melting to only 35 hundredths of an inch. This snow event, combined with some high winds prompted the second blizzard warning for O’Brien County this winter season, and the first for 2023. Snowfall amounts varied immensely throughout the listening area during this snow event.
The snowfall for February was 1.6 inches below the normal February snowfall amount of 6.6 inches. Even with this deficit, the 2022 – 2023 winter season closed out the month of February 2023 over a foot above normal, still being 12.86 inches above normal season to date snowfall.
The swing from the warmest high to the coldest low amounted to 52 degrees. The warmest that Sheldon saw in February 2023 was on Valentine’s Day. February 14 saw a high of 41 degrees. The 27th of the month came close, but the mercury only rose to 39 degrees that day. The coldest high of the month came on the 24th, when it only reached seven degrees above zero. The low for that day was a tie for the coldest that the temperature dropped in February, bringing in a bone-chilling 11 degrees below zero. There were two days of the month that registered that low. The 24th joined the first of the month.
The temperatures did not come close to any records in February. They stayed just slightly lower than normal. The average low for February 2023 was eight degrees above zero, which is 30 percent lower than the average normal low for February of 12 degrees. The average high temp for February 2023 was also a little chillier than normal, coming in 10 percent below the normal high. It registered 27 degrees for an average high for the month, compared to the average normal high of 30.
