Wichita has had 3.4 inches of snow and a high of 4 degrees. One broke an NWS record.

After a full week of sub-freezing temperatures in Wichita, the city has broken its first record of the month.

Sunday’s preliminary high temperature of 4 degrees Fahrenheit broke the Wichita daily record for Feb. 14, according to the National Weather Service. That’s the first broken weather record of February.

“It’s pretty amazing that we’ve gone this long and hadn’t broken a record yet,” NWS Wichita meteorologist Roger Martin said.

Wichita hasn’t been above freezing since Feb. 6. Normal temperatures for this time of year are highs in the upper 40s and lows in the mid 20s.

The previous coldest Valentine’s Day on record was in 1936, with a low of negative 4 and a high of 10. Now, Valentine’s Day 2021 holds the record for coolest high. As of 5 p.m. Sunday, the 1936 holiday still held the 85-year-old mark for coldest low, and that is unlikely to change as the temperature drops this evening, Martin said.

The snowfall record for Feb. 14 is 4.6 inches, set in 1969. That 52-year-old record is more than an inch from being broken, as of 5 p.m., but a little more snow is expected to fall through the night. The 3.4 inches through 5 p.m. is tied for second-most on a Valentine’s Day, Martin said.

“We’ll probably get one more round of some pretty light snow late tonight or early tomorrow morning,” he said. “It doesn’t take much to add to road problems. Fortunately tomorrow’s a holiday. The main message is it’s going to be cold.”

Monday is expected to be even colder in Wichita, with a forecasted low of around negative 7 and a high near 4 degrees for President’s Day. Both would break records from 1936.

Wichita remains under an NWS winter weather advisory through noon Monday and a wind chill warning through noon Tuesday. Wind chill values across the region are expected to be between 15 and 30 below zero.

“Plan on slippery road conditions,” NWS meteorologists wrote in the advisories. “Areas of blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility. The hazardous conditions could impact the morning or evening commute. The dangerously cold wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes.”

Gov. Laura Kelly issued a state of disaster emergency due to the warnings.

“As the extreme cold temperatures continue to affect the region, we are urging Kansans to conserve energy in order to help ensure a continued supply of natural gas and electricity and keep their own personal costs down,” Kelly said in a news release.

Several towns around the city have had higher snowfall reports on Sunday than what was recorded by NWS Wichita at Eisenhower National Airport.

The weather service’s local storm reports through 5 p.m. included 5.2 inches in Maize, 5 inches in Clearwater, 4 inches in Haysville, 3 inches in Derby and 2.9 inches in Goddard. The highest statewide snowfall report so far has been 5.5 inches in Wellington.

This story was originally published February 14, 2021 at 6:30 PM.