By Rusty Dawkins, Meteorologist/Climatologist Valentine’s Day is right around the corner so an early Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone out there! When it comes to weather on Valentine’s Day, just about anything can happen. We’re still officially in the winter season but spring is creeping up on us and definitely on everyone’s mind. So let us revisit some of the recent February 14ths and see what kind of weather that day likes to bring to the panhandle. Last year was a fairly normal Valentine’s Day. We had a high temperature of 31 degrees and a low of 10, we didn’t get any precipitation that day. Back in 2022, Valentine’s Day was a mild one with a high temperature of 52 degrees. It was cold in the morning, though. We saw a low of 14 degrees. It didn’t snow that day, but we did see a half an inch of snow a couple days later. In 2021 we had a very COLD February 14th. The high was only -4 degrees and the low was a staggering 25 degrees BELOW zero! The days leading up to Valentine’s Day 2021 had been a snowy one. We saw a combined 8 inches of snow and each day got colder than the day before it. The average for temperatures this time of year are starting to get warmer. The average high is around 40 degrees and the average low is in the middle teens. So as you see, even though Valentine’s Day is still officially in the season of winter, just about anything can happen!
Rusty Dawkins grew up in Gordon and graduated from Gordon High School in 1991. He then spent a couple of years at Chadron State College before finishing his meteorology degree at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is married to his wife Melanie and has two children, Bryce and Gillian. He loves to travel and golf, so if you see him out and about, be sure to say hello!