February Coldest Since 1875; Lion or Lamb on March 1?

You’d better check the weather forecast before you head out this weekend. (Photo via Flickr/Creative Commons)

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If the short, abbreviated month we’re about to bid good riddance to felt like the longest of the year, it may be because it’s shaping up to be the coldest February in 140 years in metro Detroit.

Barring a wild temperature swing that no one this side of the Bahamas thinks will happen on February’s final day – outside of wild, perhaps numbing cold-induced dreams, that is – February 2015 is the coldest on record for the month since 1875.

The Detroit Free Press says that with a day to go, this February’s average temperature is 14.5 days, the coldest since 1875’s February average of 12.2 degrees.

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Friday morning’s -4 degrees at the Detroit Metro Airport tied a 1934 record, National Weather Service meteorologist Dan Thompson.

Temperatures should rebound to the 30s Saturday, but snow is on the way. Accuweather.com expects the fable of March coming in like a lion to hold true with its forecast of 2-4 inches of snow in metro Detroit Saturday into Sunday and below normal temperatures. Chances of snow or a wintery mix dominate the forecast through Thursday, before cold temperatures return.

According to the Accuweather.com model, weather during the 2015 Spring Equinox on March 20 will be cold and cloudy.

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