Expect warmer than usual February for Tri-Cities

The new year got off to a slightly warmer start than is usual for January in the Tri-Cities, and February also is expected to be warmer than usual, according to the National Weather Service.

Normal highs for February in the Tri-Cities are 47.9 degrees and normal lows are 29.6 degrees.

The month could see less precipitation than the usual 0.78 inch for February in the Tri-Cities, according to the weather service.

El Niño is behind the predictions for both the relatively warm and relatively dry temperatures.

Temperatures in January averaged 36 degrees, which is just barely above the normal of 35.5 degrees. Warm temperatures in the last half of the month brought the average up after a cold spell at the start of the month.

On Jan. 3, the low was 12 degrees and for the first five days of the month, the highs remained below freezing. But the lows were 40 degrees on three days in the last half of the month and the high on Jan. 23 hit 61 degrees.

At Hanford, where daily temperature records are kept back to World War II, one record was set last month, according to the Hanford Meteorological Service. On Jan. 22, the high was 57 degrees, beating the previous record of 56 degrees set in 1990.

It was the highest temperature of the month recorded at the Hanford Meteorology Station, and the lowest was 11 degrees on Jan. 2.

Precipitation in the Tri-Cities totaled 1.29 inches during January, which was 0.21 inch above normal. It was a damp month with enough precipitation falling to measure on 16 days.

Tri-Cities precipitation included a snowfall of 0.3 inch on Jan. 4. Hanford had 3.5 inches of snow.

Since October, the start of the water year, precipitation in the Tri-Cities has totaled 4.07 inches, which is 0.21 inch above normal. The snow pack on the East Slopes of the Cascades is at or above normal.

The fastest wind gust recorded in Kennewick in January was 47 mph on Jan. 29. At the Hanford Meteorology Station, it was 33 mph on the same day.

This story was originally published February 1, 2016 at 1:50 PM with the headline "Expect warmer than usual February for Tri-Cities."