February 2024 was cooler and wetter than normal.

What You Need To Know

  • Temps in February were 1 to 3 degrees below normal

  • Rainfall was slightly above normal

  • 3 of the last 4 months have been at or below normal

  • March typically sees a quicker warm up.

February was the second straight month with below normal temperatures and above normal rainfall.

The el nino winter continued with an active pattern. Several storm systems and cold fronts brought ups and downs in the weather but most of the month was below average. In fact, during the middle of the month, 13 of 14 days had below normal temperatures and ten days in a row were below aveerage.

Here is a look at some of the numbers...(data as of Feb 28 AM)

Tampa

Average Temperature: 62.7 (2.0 degreegs below normal)

Rainfall: 3.32 inches (0.78 inches above average)

Brooksville

Average Temperature: 59.2 (1.3 degreegs below normal)

Rainfall: 3.69 inches (1.19 inches above average)

 

Lakeland

 

 

Average Temperature: 62.8 (0.5 degreegs below normal)

Rainfall: 2.78 inches (0.10 inches below average)

 

St. Petersburg

 

 

Average Temperature: 63.3 (1.5 degreegs below normal)

Rainfall: 2.99 inches (1.04 inches above average)

 

Clearwater

 

 

Average Temperature: 62.5 (1.6 degreegs below normal)

Rainfall: 3.49 inches (1.20 inches above average)

 

Ruskin

 

 

Average Temperature: 63.1 (0.8 degreegs below normal)

Rainfall: 2.98 inches (0.85 inches above average)

 

Bradenton

 

 

Average Temperature: 62.9 (1.8 degreegs below normal)

Rainfall: 3.26 inches (1.40 inches above average)

 

Winter Haven

 

 

Average Temperature: 62.6 (2.4 degreegs below normal)

Rainfall: 1.97 inches (0.39 inches below average)

Looking ahead to March

Typically during March we transition out of winter and see warm spring weather. March usually remains rather dry as we are out of the active winter pattern and still months away from the daily summer thunderstorms.

March begins with average temperatures of 76 for the high and 57 for the low. By the 31st, the numbers climb to 80 and 62, respectively.

A normal March rainfall is just 2.52 inches.

The wettest March occured in 1959 when 12.64 inches of rain fell. 1907, 2006 and 2020 were the driest with only a trace of rain having fallen.

The coldest March temperature was on March 3, 1980 where the temperature dropped to 29 degrees in Tampa. The warmest was March 25 and 30 of 1907 when it hit 92 degrees.