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Winter One Of The Warmest On Record
by Cody Matz
March 05, 2012 7:44 PM
Here is just more proof that temperatures were well above average through the Meteorological winter. This data comes from the National Weather Service in Aberdeen. And amazingly enough, another very warm day is expected Tuesday with temperatures 15 to 30 degrees above average across the area. The high we are expecting are on your left.
Meteorological winter 2011-2012 (defined as the period from December – February) will likely be remembered as one of the warmest winters on record at many locations across central and northeastern South Dakota. This very mild winter can be attributed to several factors including below normal snowfall, lack of a persistent, deep snow cover, and few arctic airmass intrusions.
The tables below lists the warmest average temperature for the period December through February at Aberdeen, Pierre, Mobridge, and Watertown. Graphical displays for the observed temperature and departure from normal for all of South Dakota is also provided (courtesy of the High Plains Regional Climate Center).
One note is that 2012 is a leap year – such that the winter of 2011/2012 contained one more day in meteorological winter than a majority of the other years (91 days vs. 90 days). Leap year winters are annotated by an asterisk (*).
 
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