WAS PHIL RIGHT?

As warm January steps aside for mild February, spring feels like it is around the corner

It doesn’t take a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob to forecast an early spring. Just look out the window.

Temperatures in Pittsburgh surpassed 60 degrees Monday, following a January with abovenormal temperatures and below-normal snow totals.

The average temperature in January was 35.2 degrees — 6.8 degrees warmer than historical averages, said Jason Frazier, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh. It was the warmest January since 2006, he said. That average of 35.2 is closer to a typical March average of 39.6 than to a typical January average of 28.4.

“It’s just been a year where we haven’t had the overall weather pattern flow to bring in the typical Arctic masses and keep them in place,” Mr. Frazier said. “These sorts of winters happen.”

January also saw only 4.2 inches of snow, compared to 11.8 inches in a typical January. Precipitation totals were above normal, Mr. Frazier said, but because of the warm temperatures, most of it fell as rain.

The last January to see so little snow was 1998, with 1.7 inches.

“We’ve struggled to remain cold long enough,” he said. “It’s really hindered our snow development.”

The high temperature of 62 degrees Monday at Pittsburgh International Airport did not set a record — that came with a 66degree Feb. 3 in 1883 — but it was well above average for what is normally one of the coldest weeks of the year.

Some cities in Ohio did set high temperature records on Monday. Wheeling, W.Va., set a record at 64 degrees.

Temperatures should stay warm through Tuesday, with a high in the mid-50s, although some precipitation is expected.

The high on Wednesday should drop into the 30s, with temperatures rising into the 50s at the end of the week. There will be a chance of snow this weekend, Mr. Frazier said, although it is not expected to be significant.

At this point, he said, the forecast is for less snow than normal for the remainder of the winter.

“A lot of the trends and outlooks point to similar sort of setups,” he said. “By the time we get cold, there’s not a lot of snow accumulation left.”

Alexandra Wimley/Post-Gazette Wyatt Blose, 3, throws breadcrumbs to ducks at the Sharpsburg Islands Marina on Monday during a walk with his dad, Casey; sister, Sawyer, 1; and mom, Brittany, all of Sharpsburg.