Last month was the coldest February in Missouri for more than a quarter-century.

The Missouri Climate Center says the average temperature across the state was 26 degrees for the month. That’s almost eight degrees below the long-term average and the coldest since 1989.

In addition, February dragged down the average for the entire winter to one degree below the normal.

As for precipitation, it averaged slightly below average statewide in February, even with heavy snows in parts of the state.

Northeast Missouri recorded some of the highest snow totals, with reports of 12-and-a-half to 19-and-a-half inches in the area between Elsberry and Hannibal.