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State of the Climate
Snow & Ice
February 2006

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

National Climatic Data Center


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Snow Report
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Snow Report


daily animation of Northern Hemisphere snow cover from the month
Northern Hemisphere Animation Loop
daily animation of U.S.snow cover from the month
National Animation Loop

The two satellite-derived animations above show the daily snow cover across the Northern Hemisphere (left map) and North America (right map) throughout February 2006. By clicking on the images, the change in sea-ice extent across parts of the Arctic can be seen through the month as well as several significant snowfall events across the U.S. and Europe, including a significant US East Coast storm on the 11th and 12th. February temperatures were near average for the US, while much warmer than average temperatures occurred in Alaska. Information on snow extent will be available later in the month. Sea-ice for the Great Lakes was still largely absent.

More information on significant winter weather and other hazards can be found on NCDC's Hazards page.

Map of monthly snow pack percent of average
larger image

Image courtesy of the
USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service

The map to the left depicts percent of average snowpack in the West and Alaska as of March 1st. The snowpack is less than 50% of average across much of the Southwest causing rising concern over spring water supply, which primarily results from melting snow. Abundant snowfall accumulated in parts of the northwest through the winter as Pacific storms impacted the region during December and January. More information on February severe winter weather can also be found on NCDC's Hazards page. Alaska had mostly below average snowpack, partly as a result of warmer-than-average temperatures across the state during December and February and drier than average conditions in January.


Questions?

For questions on technical or scientific content of this report, please contact:

Jake Crouch:
Jake.Crouch@noaa.gov

For general climate monitoring questions, please contact:

CMB.Contact@noaa.gov

For climate data orders, please contact the National Climatic Data Center's Climate Services and Monitoring Division:

NCDC.Orders@noaa.gov

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