Tony reviews February hot spell

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) - In a winter of frequent warm shots, this latest mid-week spike in temperatures reached remarkable status on Wednesday. That’s when the temperature hit 80 in Huntington for only the fourth time since record-keeping began in the late 1800s. Actually a sensor at Tri-State Airport (not the official thermometer) hit 81 at 4:10 and stayed there until 4:15 p.m. But the officials as documented by the National Weather Service went into the books as 80 Huntington and 78 Charleston. Those numbers broke old records from back in 1930.

Looking ahead to Thursday, the record highs of 76 are in jeopardy as overnight showers will be long gone in time for a day of partial hazy sunshine. The X factor as always will be the wind with the notion that “the faster the wind blows the higher the temperature will get.” It Looks like an afternoon of 15-25 mph winds with higher gusts. That should provide the advective (kinetic energy) power for another record high.

One final note, having crunched the hourly temperatures expected through next Tuesday, it is likely we will end up in the Top 10 warmest Februarys since record keeping began with Huntington likely finishing in the Top 5 while Charleston makes it into the Top 10. So our home heating bills will look better come March (assuming you are not air-conditioning your home this week)!