572 NOUS42 KTBW 012015 PNSTBW FLZ043-050-052-056-057-061-139-142-148-149-151-155-160-162-165- 239-242-248-249-251-255-260-262-265-020815- Public Information Statement National Weather Service Tampa Bay Ruskin FL 315 PM EST Thu Mar 1 2018 ...RECORD WARM FEBRUARY ACROSS WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA... February 2018 will go down as the warmest February on record across most of West Central and Southwest Florida with many of the official observing sites setting new records for the month. Temperatures averaged from about 7 to over 11 degrees above normal for the month breaking previous records by up to 4 degrees. In the table below is the ranking of some of the official observing sites that have reported. FEBRUARY MONTHLY TEMPERATURE (deg F): Feb 2018 Normal Dep fm Previous Records Location Rank Avg Temp Feb Temp Normal Record Began Fort Myers - Page Field 1st 74.9 66.6 +8.3 72.3/1997 Jan 1902 Tampa Area 1st 74.2 63.4 +10.8 70.8/1932 Apr 1890 Plant City 1st 73.2 63.2 +10.0 70.6/1949 Sep 1892 Lakeland Linder 1st 72.8 63.3 +9.5 71.6/1932 Feb 1915 Winter Haven Area 1st 72.7 63.5 +9.2 71.5/1949 Mar 1941 St Petersburg - Whitted 1st 72.6 64.1 +8.5 72.3/1932 Aug 1914 Venice 1st 72.5 63.6 +8.9 70.1/1959 May 1955 Sarasota-Bradenton Area 1st 71.9 63.4 +8.5 70.5/1959 Jan 1911 Bartow 1st 71.6 64.5 +7.1 71.0/1949 Jun 1892 Archbold Bio Stn 1st 71.3 62.6 +8.7 69.3/2001 Jan 1969 St Leo 1st 71.2 63.6 +7.6 70.2/1932 Apr 1895 Tarpon Springs 1st 71.2 62.3 +8.9 70.7/1932 Jan 1892 Brooksville Area 1st 70.6 59.5 +11.1 69.9/1927 Feb 1892 Chiefland 5 ESE 1st 68.5 57.4 +11.1 64.2/1990 Jul 1956 Punta Gorda Area 2nd 73.1 65.5 +7.6 74.4/1949 May 1914 Arcadia 2nd 71.0 62.7 +8.3 71.2/1949 Nov 1899 Wauchula 2 N 2nd 70.8 63.9 +6.9 71.1/1949 Jan 1933 Inverness 3 SE 2nd 68.9 59.1 +9.8 69.4/1949 Jul 1948 In the tables below are the lists of sites that set new or tied temperature records for the month of February. There were numerous daily temperature records set during the month, but the ones listed below are the new/tied records for the month of February. NEW TEMPERATURE RECORDS FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY (deg F): Feb 2018 Records Location Max Temp Previous Record Began Sarasota-Bradenton Area 90 on 02/20 88 on 02/28/1997 Jan 1911 Tampa Area 89 on 02/20 88 on 02/26/1971 Apr 1890 Chiefland 5 ESE 88 on 02/21 87 on 02/25/1962 Jul 1956 Feb 2018 Records Location Highest Min Temp Previous Record Began Tampa Area 73 on 02/20 71 on 02/10/1949 Apr 1890 Fort Myers Area 72 on 02/20(tie) 72 on 02/24/2008* Jan 1902 Plant City 71 on 02/13 70 on 20/03/2016* Sep 1892 Tarpon Springs 71 on 02/21(tie) 71 on 02/28/2005* Jan 1892 Brooksville Area 70 on 02/21(tie) 70 on 02/10/1939* Jan 1892 Sarasota-Bradenton Area 70 on 02/20(tie) 70 on 02/23/2012* Jan 1911 * Last of multiple occurrences $$ PRC