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North Platte Groundhog Day Climatology

February 2 is celebrated as Groundhog Day. One of the most famous groundhogs is Punxsutawney Phil, located in Punxsutawney, PA. It is said that if the groundhog sees his shadow, he predicts 6 more weeks of winter, otherwise the prediction is for an early spring. While the prediction of the groundhog is not always right, many enjoy the tradition. Below is a climatology for North Platte on Groundhog Day, February 2.

GROUNDHOG DAY IN NORTH PLATTE
PERIOD OF RECORD 142 YEARS: 1875-2016

TEMPERATURE DATA

Highest	69 degrees (1962)
Lowest	-18 degrees (1883)
Lowest Maximum	-6 degrees (1905)
Highest Minimum	33 degrees (2 times) (1888 & 1952)
Average High	37.7 degrees
Average Low	11.2 degrees
30 year Normal High	40 degrees
30 year Normal Low	12 degrees
Average Temperature Range	26.5 degrees
Largest Range between High and Low	50 degrees (2 times) High 34, Low -16 (1893) High 41, Low -9 (2015)
Smallest Range between High and Low	6 degrees (2 times) High 11, Low 5 (1936) High 32, Low 26 (1945)

High Temperature by 10 Degree Ranges

-0s	0s	10s	20s	30s	40s	50s	60s
3	6	8	27	30	30	26	12
2.1%	4.2%	5.6%	19.0%	21.1%	21.1%	18.3%	8.5%

Low Temperature by 10 Degree Ranges

-10s	-0s	0s	10s	20s	30s
14	18	24	41	39	6
9.9%	12.7%	16.9%	28.9%	27.5%	4.2%

PRECIPITATION DATA

Maximum Precipitation	0.44 inches (1920)
Maximum Snowfall	4.1 inches (2016)
Number of Times Precipitation	43 Occurrences or 30.3%
Number of Times Measurable Precipitation (more than a Trace)	18 Occurrences or 12.7%
Number of Times Snowfall	39 Occurrences or 27.5%
Number of Times Measurable Snowfall (more than a Trace)	16 Occurrences or 11.3%
Number of Times No Precipitation	99 Occurrences or 69.7%
Most Snow on Ground at Observation Time	9 inches (2016)

WHITE GROUNDHOG DAY IN NORTH PLATTE
PERIOD OF RECORD 137 YEARS: 1880-2016
White Groundhog Day = 1 inch or more of snow on ground
at observation time on February 2
(snow depth rounded to nearest whole inch or trace if 0.4 inches or less)
*Snowdepth estimated for 1883 & 1891*

Number of Years with a White Groundhog Day (137 years)	44 Years (32.1%)
Number of Years with a White Groundhog Day (last 25 years)	7 Years (28.0%)
Number of Years with a White Groundhog Day (last 10 years)	2 Years (20.0%) 2007 - 4 inches 2016 - 9 inches
Number of Years with trace or more snow on Ground (137 years)	63 Years (46.0%)
Number of Years with trace or more snow on Ground (last 25 years)	9 Years (36.0%)
Number of Years with trace or more snow on Ground (last 10 years)	3 Years (30.0%)
Consecutive Years with a White Groundhog Day	8 Years (1915 - 1922)
Consecutive Years without a White Groundhog Day	9 Years (1923 - 1931)
Current Streak Consecutive Years White Groundhog Day	1 Year

White Groundhog Day Occurences by Decade
* incomplete decade

1880s	1890s	1900s	1910s	1920s	1930s	1940s
1	2	3	6	3	4	3
1950s	1960s	1970s	1980s	1990s	2000s	2010s
4	5	3	3	2	4	1*

DAILY WEATHER SUMMARIES PAST 5 NEW YEAR'S DAYS

Date	High	Low	Precip	Snow	Snow Depth	Remarks
2012	56	17	0.00	0.0	0	Mostly cloudy morning, partly sunny afternoon
2013	53	20	0.00	0.0	0	Sunny, windy (peak gust 47 mph)
2014	25	-9	0.00	0.0	0	Early morning clouds, otherwise sunny
2015	41	-9	0.00	0.0	0	Mostly sunny
2016	30	21	0.27	4.1	9	Cloudy, snow most of the day, windy (peak gust 36 mph)

YEAR BY YEAR WEATHER FOR PAST NEW YEAR'S DAYS
CLICK ON GRAPH FOR LARGER IMAGE

ALSO VISIT VALENTINE GROUNDHOG DAY CLIMATOLOGY

For more holiday climate studies see the main menu
Holiday Climate Studies for North Platte and Valentine

Page composition by
Matthew Masek
Update includes 2016

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Heat Expands for Center of the Nation; Severe Thunderstorms for Plains and Upper Midwest

Groundhog Day Climatology - North Platte, NE