It has been well documented that this past winter was rather warm, with Deep East Texas avoiding any pro-longed period of hard freezes.
With the jet stream remaining anchored across the United States and Canadian border, none of that bitter, Arctic air really broke loose this past winter season.
Climatology on Number of Freezes Per Year
I went back and did some research on how many freezes we saw this past winter season and how that compares to what we typically see in a normal year.
Going back to 1906 and looking at every year up to this point, we on average, experience about 31.6 days of freezing temperatures per year. Freezing temperatures are defined as days in which the lows dip to or below that magical 32° mark.
The month that experiences the most number of freezes is January, with an average of 10.5 occurrences. The second frequent month is December, with an average of 8.8 freezes, followed by February with 5.9 and November with 3.7. March averages about 2.4 freezing nights, with only 0.2 for the month of October.
The Lack of Freezes This 2011-2012 Winter Season
In looking back on our past winter season, it was one of the more milder one's we have seen in quite some time. We started out with November having 5 nights of sub-freezing temperatures, which was slightly above normal. We also hit or fell below the freezing mark 5 times in December, which was behind the average of 8.8 occurrences. This past January, we had 7 nights of sub-freezing temperatures, which was only slightly below normal.
February, however, was a much different story. We only had one freeze during the entire month, and since then, have not really come close to getting to 32°.
The lack of freezing temperatures is one reason why spring sprung so early for us this year. You combine the mild winter with the above normal rainfall, and it's no wonder why many of us have been suffering from allergies. Everything is blooming and at a much earlier rate than what we normally see for this time of year.
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