February in Syracuse marked the fourth consecutive month colder than normal, averaging 23.4°F—more than 2 degrees below average-including matching record lows of -9°F on February 8 and 9 (when my Clay backyard gauge hit -15.5°F on Feb 8) and some welcome late-month mildness with the monthly high of 50°F landing on the very last day. Precipitation totaled 1.74 inches of rain and melted snow, a little shy of normal, while snowfall reached 20 inches across 22 of 28 days, including one significant 6-inch event on February 11 and a peak ground cover of 18 inches on February 12. We mercifully skirted the ferocious coastal nor'easter that from February 22-23 slammed southern New England with hurricane-force wind gusts to 98 mph along the Rhode Island coast and 2 - 3 feet of snow, dodging its worst impacts and leaving our season's snow tally at a nation leading 133.5 inches.  We had a peak wind gust of 44 mph on February 7.