Microseason 7 of 72 · February 1–5
East wind softens the frost
A five-day window of the year, read through nine North American climate regions.
Same week, nine climates
A microseason names a five-day window of the solar year. What that window actually looks like on the ground depends on where you are. Below, the same calendar window read through each of nine North American climate regions.
- NENortheast Continental
East wind softens the frost
Coastal breezes bring the first hint of Atlantic warmth.
- SESoutheast Subtropical
February's lengthening light
Days grow noticeably longer; early-budding magnolias show pink buds swelling prominently on branches.
- PNWPacific Northwest
The Sap Stirs
Deep in the xylem of big-leaf maple and red alder, sap begins its imperceptible ascent. Warmish days hint at the rising pressure within.
- CACalifornia Mediterranean
Fog lifts, flowers open
Morning marine layer recedes later each day. Ceanothus blooms in dense clusters—blue haze across chaparral. Interior live oak catkins swell. Insects become more visible.
- MWMountain West
The year's coldest fortnight begins
Peak winter intensity; valley fog inversions persist in Salt Lake City, Boise, and Reno; animal movement slows to survival mode.
- MPPlains Continental
February's first breath
The coldest month begins; prairie life minimizes activity as temperatures plunge.
- SWSouthwest Desert
Gold floods the bajada
Mexican gold poppies bloom prolifically. Daytime 78-84°F. Nights near 40°F. Desert brightens—yellow carpets appear in any sandy wash with moisture.
- TRTropical / Sub-Tropical
Plumeria and ceiba crown the canopy
February arrives dry and bright. Plumeria flowers peak in intensity. Royal poinciana crowns become deep red. Mangrove nesting well underway.
- AKAlaska Subarctic
February arrives in deep winter
The second month begins with Fairbanks still near its minimum daily light; dawn arrives only at mid-morning.
About the 72-microseason calendar
A microseason is a five-day window of the solar year — long enough to notice something change, short enough that the change is specific. The year holds seventy-two of them, six per month, ordered by what the natural world is doing rather than what the clock says. Almanac calendars like this are an old American habit, kept by farmers, gardeners, and birders for centuries; Weather Story collects them into a single reference.
Each microseason is read through nine North American climate regions. The phenological events that mark a five-day window vary with ecology — the strawberries that open in the Northeast might coincide with the first magnolias dropping in the Southeast and the salmonberry blossoms unfurling in the Pacific Northwest. Same week, nine ecologies, nine readings.