In Russia, sharp temperature contrasts were observed in the first decade of February. Indeed, the anomalies of decade-averaged temperatures as high as +6…8° in the ETR and the daily temperatures reaching their new maxima in the south of the Krasnodar Territory or in Crimea were accompanied with the record-breaking colds beyond the Urals, in all Siberia and in the south of the Far East: down to -45° or below in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Irkutsk Region and Trans-Baikal, and down to -40° or below in the south of West Siberia, in the Khabarovsk and Primorye Territories, as well as in the Amur Region and Sakhalin.
Everything changed in the beginning of the second decade. The warmth unprecedented for this time of year arrived in Siberia. Of course, the thermometer readings were still below zero as a rule, but the decade-averaged air temperature exceeded its normal value by as much as 8-15° even to end up with thaws in the Trans-Baikal. At the same time, the weather remained exceptionally warm in the European Territory and in Chukotka. (The anomalies of decade-averaged temperatures of up to +6-8° in the central and north-west ETR and up to +8-11° in Chukotka were recorded along with the new temperature maxima in Saint-Petersburg, Kaliningrad and in the Pskov, Smolensk and Ryazan Regions.) The only areas to change warmth for cold were the eastern areas of Yakutia with the temperatures below -50°, and the Magadan Region. (The anomalies of decade-averaged temperatures were about -3…-5°).
The overall picture remained basically the same in the third decade. The warm weather in Siberia and in the south of the Far East became yet warmer demonstrating the decade anomalies of +8…15°. The records of warmth were beaten in the Trans-Baikal, the Amur Region, the Primorye, Altai and Khakassia. The north-west territories of the country were also keeping in pace: the unmatched temperature maxima were recorded in Karelia and in the Leningrad Region. Large anomalies of warmth persisted in Chukotka. And Kamchatka was the only region where the weather turned cold.
On the monthly average, the pattern of increased air temperatures was observed throughout almost the whole territory of the country. The monthly-averaged air temperature exceeded its normal value by 4-10° in the most part of the Siberian Federal district, in the west of Yakutia, in the Irkutsk Region and Trans-Baikal, by 4-6° in the ETR and by 4-12° in Chukotka. The South Siberia (the south of Tyva, the Khakassia, and partially the Irkutsk Region and the Altai Territory), Kamchatka and the Magadan Region were the sole territories where this February was somewhat colder than usual.
The last winter was anomalously warm in Russia. Both the February averages, and the averages for the whole winter alike, were above normal everywhere excluding the South Siberia: by 2-3° in most parts of the country and by 3-5° in certain Siberian regions and in West Yakutia.
In East and South-East Asia, the last calendar month of winter was also abnormally warm. In the south and west of China, in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Korea and Japan, the monthly-averaged air temperatures exceeded the normal values by 2-4°. Nevertheless, they matched these values in most parts of China, and were sometimes 2° below them in Mongolia.
In India, the temperature was close to normal. The monthly-averaged air temperature was only reduced in the north of the country and in the neighbouring regions of Pakistan.
Normal temperatures prevailed throughout the most territory of the Near and Middle East as well. The exceptions where the weather was 2-3° warmer than usual were the North Iraq, the north-east of Turkey and the Transcaucasia. The temperature on the Black Sea coast of Turkey was almost two months ahead the climatic course and resulted in too early blossoming of plums. Turkish mass media reported that such blossoming had been never observed in winter before.
The positive anomalies were even more dramatic in Central Asia reaching +4° or more in Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and the south of Kazakhstan.
The weather was cold in Algeria and Tunisia where new temperature minima, some of them just tenths of degree above zero, and monthly-averaged temperatures 2-4° below the normal values were recorded. Yet, the monthly averages were as usual in the most part of the African continent in the Northern Hemisphere.
The air temperature in Europe was above normal again. Records were repeatedly set all the way from the Atlantic Ocean to Belarus. Summer weather settled in the UK, and in France where a new national record was established for the daily-averaged air temperature in February. The air warmed up to above +28° in the south of France. The number of days in February with the temperature exceeding 20° in Paris was also record-breaking. In the other territory of the continent, the records of warmth were also eclipsed judging by the messages received from Germany, Czechia, Slovenia, Croatia, Poland, Belarus and Norway. On the monthly average, the air in Europe was 2-6° warmer than usual. Owing to this, the monthly-averaged temperature took a place right after the first five highest values in the ranking list maintained since 1891. The leading position in this list is occupied by February 1990 when the temperature was 1.5° higher.
The weather in the USA from its Middle West to the Pacific was very cold for the most part of February. There, the anomalies of monthly-averaged temperatures were from -2 to -8°. The weather noticeably warmer than usual was only observed in the south and south-east of the country (anomalies of +2…4°) and in Alaska (anomalies of +5…15°). This February was the coldest in the USA since 2010. It was the second coldest month in the North Dakota and Montana and the third coldest one in the South Dakota for the whole history of meteorological observations in the USA. On the contrary, it was the second warmest one in Florida. In Canada, the warmth in the north (with the anomalies of +2…8°) contrasted with the cold in the south and especially in the south-west of the country. In the latter case, the monthly-averaged temperature was 8-12° below the normal value.
In the Arctic, the monthly-averaged temperature in February was 3° above normal. It is at the bottom of the Top Ten of the warmest values for the whole history of meteorological observations where eight of these values pertain to the XXI century.
In overall, the winter in the Northern Hemisphere was abnormally warm. Its average temperature is at the 5th or 6th position in the ranking list of highest values recorded for the whole history of regular meteorological observations since 1891. Besides Russia, the weather was predominantly warm in Europe, Central and South-East Asia, Near and Middle East, Korea and Japan, in the south-east of the USA and, quite traditionally already, in the Arctic. Large negative anomalies of season-averaged temperature were not observed; however, the weather was to a certain degree colder than usual in the north of Africa, India and China.
In Moscow, the average February temperature was -1.4° and the anomaly was +6.3°. This February was the sixth warmest one in the meteorological chronicle of the capital. The monthly-averaged temperature was almost 2° lower than the highest record dated February 1990. The latter year was the only one when the average February temperature in Moscow was above zero. The whole winter in Moscow was also abnormally warm: its average temperature was more than 3° above the normal value.

A weak El Nino survives in the east equatorial latitudes of the Pacific Ocean. The anomalies of ocean surface temperature in the water areas where the El Nino is localised amounted to less than +1°. In the Northern Hemisphere, the average anomaly of surface temperature in the Pacific Ocean remained at the level recorded in January but decreased with respect to the end of the last year when the El Nino was formed. The ocean surface temperature was higher than normal along the Chinese coast and further eastwards but, as in January, less than normal in the Sea of Okhotsk.
As regards the Atlantic Ocean, its surface temperature anomaly in the Northern Hemisphere was still close to normal. It remains at this level for a year already. Anomalously cold water could be observed in the tropics and in the west of moderate and northern latitudes, and anomalously warm one, to the east from the US coastline and in the Davis Strait. The water temperature in the Baltic Sea and in the North Sea was above normal.

In the most part of the ETR, the total precipitation in February was either normal or increased. In the North, Upper Volga and Cis-Urals, it was two or more times greater than the normal figure in some places. The unrivalled amounts of precipitation were recorded in Moscow and Saint-Petersburg, in the Murmansk Region and in the Republic of Karelia. Heavy snowfalls took place in the central regions of Russia (Moscow, Ryazan, Ivanovo, Vladimir and Kostroma Regions) in the beginning of the third decade. The south of the ETR, the South Federal district and the North Caucasian Federal district were the only places in February to accumulate small amounts of precipitation (usually, less than a half of its normal amount).
The precipitation in Urals was typically as normal but to a certain degree heavier in the south (Kurgan and Sverdlovsk Regions). In Siberia, the precipitation was abundant (some 1.5 times its normal amount) in Taimyr only and was scarce in other territories. Less than a half of the normal monthly amount was observed in the Kemerovo and Irkutsk Regions, in the Altai Territory and in the Republics of Altai and Khakassia, and no precipitation at all dropped in the Republic of Tyva. Plenty of precipitation in the Far East Federal district was received by Chukotka and Yakutia. There, the normal monthly figures were exceeded by 3-4 times in certain areas, and the new daily maxima were set. In the other Far East territories, the precipitation was reduced (to less than a half of its normal amount), or altogether absent as in Trans-Baikal. In the Primorye, the amounts of precipitation were surprisingly small this winter. For example, just 1 mm of precipitation in February and no precipitation whatsoever in January were recorded in Vladivostok.
The precipitation targets were exceeded in Mongolia and in individual regions of South-East and West China. There, the precipitation amounts were 2-3 times greater than normal in some places. The remaining territory of China and its neighbouring Korea and Japan fell short of precipitation. On the other hand, these countries were sometimes overflowed with heavy showers (up to 80 mm daily). The snowfalls and thaws in the Northern China turned the Great Chinese Wall into an ice fortress.
In South-East Asia, rain showers poured down in the north of Thailand and Vietnam  where the amounts of participation in some places exceeded their normal values by two or more times. The other territories of this region were almost free of precipitation.
Heavy rains pelted the north of India and Pakistan. The daily amounts of rain were up to 60 mm, in excess of the normal monthly amount. In Pakistan, they resulted in floods and caused fatal casualties.
In Central Asia, much precipitation was observed here and there. The total monthly precipitation in Turkmenistan and Afghanistan, in the north of Uzbekistan and the south-west of Kazakhstan exceeded the normal values by 3-4 times. Heavy showers in the last days of the month resulted in floods in the south of Afghanistan. They partially flooded the town of Kandahar and claimed the lives of dozens of people. These events were recognised by local residents as the most deadly in the history of the region.
In most parts of the Near and Middle East, little precipitation was to be seen. Its amounts were normal only in certain places in the north of Iran and Iraq, in Transcaucasia and in the Mediterranean countries. A snowstorm followed by a heavy shower hit Israel in the last day of the month.
In North Africa, rains were falling on the Mediterranean coast only. Their normal or increased monthly amounts were observed in the north of Tunisia, Libyan and Egypt. In the rest of this subcontinent, almost no precipitation was recorded.
In the most part of Europe, the precipitation was in small amounts during this month. The Scandinavian, Baltic and Benelux countries as well as Belarus were the only exceptions with the amounts close to normal; in other territories, they were significantly smaller. Rare showers hit Sicily, Spain, Portugal and the Balkans producing up to 50 mm of rainy water per day.
The USA was drowned in rains and snowfalls in February. The total participation was significantly above normal everywhere excluding Texas, Florida and the Gulf Coast. In some places, the excess was 2 to 3 times. A state of emergency has sometimes been declared by the government leading to interruptions in operation of educational institutions and public offices. In South California, snow fell for the first time in the last fifty years, followed by rain. The record-breaking precipitation amounts were reported. The traffic circulation was shut down. In the adjacent Arizona, snow in quantities never recorded before were also observed. Even Hawaii was exposed to snow. It was the wettest February for the whole history of observations in the country, with the total winter precipitation reaching the absolute maximum and surpassing the previous record set in the winter of 1997-98.
Limited amounts of precipitation were seen in Mexico and Canada bordering the USA from both sides. Only southern Mexican states received as much precipitation as California to overshoot the normal amounts by some 2 or 3 times; almost no rains came down in the rest of the country. In Canada, the situation was reverse: scanty precipitation along the USA border except for the regions adjacent to the Great Lakes, and ample precipitation (at least in usual quantities, or greater) in the polar region.
In Moscow, the overall monthly precipitation was 34 mm, which is close to normal. A new maximum of daily precipitation equal to 14 mm was recorded on February 13. The snowfall which started at about 3 a.m. on that day continued for sixteen hours.