Approximately 21 percent of the contiguous U.S. (CONUS) was covered by snow at the beginning of February according to NOAA's National Snow Analysis. At the beginning of the month, snow covered much of the mountainous West and Northeast, and parts of the central and northern Plains, Great Lakes, Ohio Valley and Appalachian Mountains. Snow cover increased steadily over the subsequent weeks before peaking at nearly 42 percent on the 17th of the month — the maximum snow cover extent for the month — with snow covering most of the northern half of the U.S. and southern portions of the Rockies. Snow coverage decreased steadily before dropping to about 14 percent on the 26th — the minimum extent for the month. During the remaining days of the month, snow coverage increased steadily to cover much of the mountainous West and parts of the northern Plains, central Mississippi Valley, Great Lakes and Northeast. By February 29, snow covered 17.6 percent of the CONUS.

According to NOAA data analyzed by the Rutgers Global Snow Lab, the February snow cover extent was 776,800 square miles, 439,000 square miles below the 1991-2020 average, and the second-lowest value in the 58-year satellite record. Above-average snow cover was observed in the Sierras and southern Plains, and in parts of the Northwest and Rockies, while below-average snow cover was observed across much of the central and eastern U.S. and in parts of the West.

Melting of winter and spring mountain snowpack provides a crucial summer water source across much of the western United States. The total annual water budget for agriculture and human use in the mountainous West is highly dependent on the amount of snow melt that will occur in spring and is proportional to the amount of snow on the ground, which can be approximated by a measure of the snow water equivalent (SWE).

On January 31, SWE values were below normal across most of the West, while much of the Great Basin, portions of New Mexico and a small part of the central Rockies observed above-normal SWE values. By the end of February, SWE values were still below normal across much of the West, while portions of the Great Basin, central and southern Rockies and eastern Oregon observed above-normal SWE values.


Citing This Report

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Monthly National Snow and Ice Report for February 2024, published online March 2024, retrieved on March 19, 2024 from https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/monthly-report/snow/202402.