This is NYC's coldest February in 81 years

With just a couple of days in the month left to go, New York City is poised to finish out its coldest February in more than 80 years.

Preliminary data from the National Weather Service, collected in Central Park, put this month's average temperature at 24.1 degrees Fahrenheit. That puts this year as the third coldest February since we started recording temperatures in Central Park in 1869. We haven't had a February this cold since 1934, when the average came in at a frigid 19.9 degrees.

Here's a chart from the National Weather Service with data from the coldest Februaries on record:

The second coldest February was in 1885, with an average temperature of 22.7 degrees, and third place goes to February 1895, which ties with this month at 24.1 degrees.

In the last 80 years, New York City has also seen one January that was colder than this year's February. That was January 1977, which averaged 22.1 degrees.

This chart shows the top 10 coldest months ever in New York City. February 1934 still takes the cake.

So far, the coldest day we've seen this month got down to a low of 2 degrees Fahrenheit - definitely shiver-inducing, but not quite a record breaker. The coldest February day ever recorded in Central Park also happened in 1934. The low was a teeth-chattering -15 degrees.

New Yorkers have also endured 11.9 inches of snow so far this month - a pretty normal amount for February.

Still, after making it through 21 days in the past month with below-freezing averages, March - and its (hopefully) balmier temperatures - is starting to look pretty welcoming.

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