Told you it's been cold...

	Public Information Statement
Statement as of 6:54 am EST on March 3, 2010 ... The winter season of 2009-2010 for east central Florida was the coldest on record in almost 30 years and also displayed well above normal rainfall... The climatological winter season (december-february) of 2009-2010 saw the passage of several strong cold fronts across east central Florida which brought well needed rainfall but also created extended cold periods... especially during January and February. These strong and lengthy cold spells generated the coldest winter season on record since 1981. The winter season started out on the warm side overall in December with average temperatures near to above normal and only a few brief cold snaps. However conditions changed quickly in the New Year as a strong cold front on the 1st ushered in well below normal temperatures that were reinforced by additional cold airmasses through the middle of January. Average temperature departures from the 2nd through the 13th of January were around 15 to 20 degrees below normal with several nights of at or below freezing temperatures observed. The weather pattern changed by the second half of January as temperatures warmed to near to slightly above normal values which continued into early February. Unseasonably cold temperatures returned for much of the rest of February with average temperature departures falling as low as 10 to 15 degrees... even near 20 degrees below normal in some spots from the 7th of the month Onward. Winter season temperature departures ranged from 3 to 5 degrees below normal. This ranks the 2009-2010 winter season as the 5th coldest on record for Orlando... Melbourne and Vero Beach... while Daytona Beach experienced their 7th coldest winter. For all four climate sites the 1957-1958 winter stands firm as the coldest on record for east central Florida. Even more remarkable was that the combined January/February average temperature departures ranked in the top 5 coldest starts to the year for all four climate sites and even for several Co-Operative stations with long periods of record (see rankings below). Rankings of interest during this past winter season: Top 10 coldest winter (december-february) average temperature rankings in degrees fahrenheit and year of ending season set: Daytona Orlando Melbourne Vero Beach 1. 53.3 1958 1. 54.9 1958 1. 57.2 1958 1. 58.1 1958 2. 53.8 1940 2. 56.0 1977 2. 57.3 1970 2. 58.6 1970 3. 54.8 1981 3. 57.2 1981 3. 57.5 1977 3. 58.7 1977 4. 55.1 1977 4. 57.4 1970 4. 58.1 1981 4. 58.8 1981 5. 55.7 1970 5. 57.6 2010 5. 58.5 2010 5. 59.9 2010 6. 56.0 1964 6. 57.8 1964 6. 59.1 1969 6. 60.4 1964 7. 56.4 2010 7. 57.9 1978 7. 59.7 1951 7. 60.6 1969 8. 56.5 1969 8. 58.1 1963 8. 60.0 1964 8. 61.1 1951 9. 56.6 1951 9. 58.8 1969 9. 60.3 1963 9. 61.3 2003 10. 56.8 2003 10. 59.0 2003 10. 60.6 1996 10. 61.4 1966 Top 5 coldest January-February average temperature rankings in degrees fahrenheit and year set: Daytona Orlando Melbourne Vero Beach 1. 51.4 1958 1. 52.6 1958 1. 55.4 2010* 1. 56.2 1958 2. 52.2 1940 2. 53.8 1977 2. 56.6 1970 2. 56.4 2010 3. 52.9 1977 3. 54.5 2010 3. 56.9 1981 3. 56.8 1978 4. 53.0 1978 4. 56.2 1981 4. 58.3 1968 4. 57.0 1977 5. 53.2 2010 5. 56.3 1978 5. 58.6 1980 5. 57.7 1981 *(note: Melbourne 1. Also 1977, 1958) Data from Co-Operative stations in east central florida: January/February winter Clermont 56.4 - 2nd coldest 56.4 - 5th coldest Deland 51.3 - coldest 54.6 - 2nd Titusville 54.2 - 3rd 57.8 - 5th Sanford 54.0 - 4th 57.1 - 4th Kissimmee 54.6 - 3rd 57.4 - coldest Okeechobee 55.8 - coldest 59.0 - 2nd ft. Pierce 57.2 - 2nd 60.5 - 7th Stuart 56.9 - coldest 60.5 - 2nd Number of days during the winter (december-february) when Max temperature was less than or equal to 60 degrees fahrenheit: Site days (winter 09/10) record (year of end season) Daytona Beach 31 35 (1958) Orlando 25 30 (1958) Melbourne 19* 18 (1958 & 1981) Vero Beach 15 18 (1958 & 1978) *broke or tied record Number of days during the winter (december-february) when min temperature was less than or equal to 32 degrees fahrenheit: Site days (winter 09/10) record (year of end season) Daytona Beach 9 20 (1958 & 1940) Orlando 6 13 (1958) Melbourne 8* 8 (1996 & 2001) Vero Beach 8* 7 (1981) *broke or tied record After what had become a rather dry fall for east central Florida... began to change by December. The continuation of El Nino conditions over the equatorial Pacific waters which began during the Summer of 2009 helped extend the subtropical jet stream over the southern United States. This transported several frontal systems and bands of precipitation across the area through December into February with above normal rainfall observed across much of the area. One of these systems combined with near freezing temperatures to bring a mix of rain/sleet to several locations across the region on the 9th of January from the early morning and into the afternoon. From December to February of 2009-2010 Orlando had their 4th wettest winter on record with 13.27 inches and Daytona Beach had their 6th wettest winter with 13.65 inches. These values were several inches below their number one records of 23.36 inches for Orlando and 19.43 inches for Daytona Beach both set during another strong El Nino in 1997-1998. Below is a list of observed precipitation totals and rainfall statistics for select sites across east central Florida for the winter (december-february) of 2009-2010: Station January 2010 30 year departure percent of rainfall normal from normal normal Daytona Beach 13.65" 8.58" 5.07" 159% (dab) Orlando 13.27" 7.09" 6.18" 187% (mco) Melbourne 9.03" 7.28" 1.75" 124% (mlb) Vero Beach 8.66" 7.53" 1.13" 115% (vrb) Clermont 11.38" 8.09" 3.29" 141% (clrf1) Deland 14.33" 8.96" 5.37" 160% (delf1) Sanford 12.41" 8.37" 4.04" 148% (sfnf1) Titusville 13.43" 7.79" 5.64" 172% (titf1) Fort Pierce 9.61" 7.97" 1.64" 121% (fpcf1) Stuart 11.50" 9.04" 2.46" 127% (strf1)