February Temperature Outlook In NJ Looks Nothing Like 1904 Record

NEW JERSEY — February temperatures in New Jersey could be a toss up, according to an updated outlook from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center.

Overall, the temperature outlook for the last month of meteorological winter favors well-above normal temperatures in the northern half of the nation, and near-average temperatures in parts of the Southwest and Southeast, according to the forecast.

Precipitation, whether as rain or snow, looks to be above average across large parts of the southern, central and southeastern parts of the country, but well below average in the Pacific Northwest and around the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley and in the Northeast, according to the outlook.

The projection for February is leaning toward above-average temperatures for the northern part of New Jersey, with the rest of the state having equal chances of above-average, average, and below-average temperatures.

This prediction applies to the u-shaped belt beginning in California, extending down to Texas, and then swooping up all the way up to Maine.

So far this month, New Jersey has seen balmy highs in the 40s and 50s, with lows rarely dipping below the 30s. The seven-day forecast calls for highs in the low 40s all the way up to the upper 50s, with lows in the 40s, 30s, and high 20s.

Historically, February can bring some of the coldest temperatures of winter. In New Jersey, the coldest day on record was Jan. 5, 1904, when the thermometer registered 34 degrees below zero Fahrenheit in River Vale.

February 2023 was the third-warmest on record nationwide since record-keeping began in 1895, according to another Climate Prediction Center report. In New Jersey, temperatures last year fell into the "much above average" category, only a step down from the "record warmest."

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