Severe Thunderstorms in the Northeast and Northern Plains; Critical Fire Weather in the West

Scattered severe thunderstorms capable of damaging wind gusts and hail are forecast across the Northeast U.S. and North Dakota today. Heavy to excessive rainfall is possible over eastern New Mexico into western Texas and over the western Florida peninsula today. Critical fire weather conditions will persist today over parts of the interior Northwest and Great Basin. Read More >

Valentine 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 Valentine on Groundhog Day, February 2.

GROUNDHOG DAY IN VALENTINE
PERIOD OF RECORD 126 YEARS: 1890-2016*
(*Missing 1893)

TEMPERATURE DATA

Highest	66 degrees (1890)
Lowest	-36 degrees (1905)
Lowest Maximum	-12 degrees (1989)
Highest Minimum	38 degrees (1890)
Average High	33.9 degrees
Average Low	8.2 degrees
30 year Normal High	37 degrees
30 year Normal Low	12 degrees
Average Temperature Range	25.7 degrees
Largest Range between High and Low	55 degrees High 40, Low -15 (2015)
Smallest Range between High and Low	4 degrees High 9, Low 5 (1895)

High Temperature by 10 Degree Ranges

-10s	-0s	0s	10s	20s	30s	40s	50s	60s
1	4	5	16	19	33	23	18	7
0.8%	3.2%	4.0%	12.7%	15.1%	26.2%	18.3%	14.3%	5.6%

Low Temperature by 10 Degree Ranges

-30s	-20s	-10s	-0s	0s	10s	20s	30s
2	5	11	19	26	27	27	9
1.6%	4.0%	8.7%	15.1%	20.6%	21.4%	21.4%	7.1%

PRECIPITATION DATA

Maximum Precipitation	0.39 inches (1995)
Maximum Snowfall	5.8 inches (2 times) (1919 & 1936)
Number of Times Precipitation	44 Occurrences or 34.9%
Number of Times Measurable Precipitation (more than a Trace)	21 Occurrences or 16.7%
Number of Times Snowfall	37 Occurrences or 31.6%
Number of Times Measurable Snowfall (more than a Trace)	17 Occurrences or 14.5%
Number of Times No Precipitation	82 Occurrences or 65.1%
Most Snow on Ground at Observation Time	15 inches (1936)

WHITE GROUNDHOG DAY IN VALENTINE
PERIOD OF RECORD 116 YEARS: 1900-2016
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)

Number of Years with a White Groundhog Day (116 years)	53 Years (45.3%)
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%) 2010 - 1 inch 2011 - 2 inches 2016 - 1 inch
Number of Years with trace or more snow on Ground (116 years)	74 Years (63.2%)
Number of Years with trace or more snow on Ground (last 25 years)	7 Years (28.0%)
Number of Years with trace or more snow on Ground (last 10 years)	3 Years (30.0%)
Consecutive Years with a White Groundhog Day	6 Years (1956 - 1961)
Consecutive Years without a White Groundhog Day	8 Years (2002 - 2009)
Current Streak Consecutive Years White Groundhog Day	1 Year

White Groundhog Day Occurences by Decade
* incomplete decade

1900s	1910s	1920s	1930s	1940s	1950s
4	5	4	5	5	6
1960s	1970s	1980s	1990s	2000s	2010s
6	4	7	2	2	3*

DAILY WEATHER SUMMARIES PAST 5 GROUNDHOG DAYS

Date	High	Low	Precip	Snow	Snow Depth	Remarks
2012	54	17	0.00	0.0	0	Mostly cloudy morning, partly sunny afternoon
2013	49	24	T	0.0	0	Morning Sprinkle, partly sunny, windy (peak wind 38 mph)
2014	38	-5	0.00	0.0	0	Sunny
2015	40	-15	0.00	0.0	0	Mostly sunny
2016	31	23	0.05	1.0	1	Cloudy, light snow most of the day

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

ALSO VISIT NORTH PLATTE 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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Severe Thunderstorms in the Northeast and Northern Plains; Critical Fire Weather in the West

Groundhog Day Climatology - Valentine, NE