The polar ice cap of snow piles in the parking lot at Shaw’s on Main Street continue shrinking as March comes in like a neutered lion. February left us with memories of a rare Bradyless Super Bowl and a 62-degree day on the 24th. While you were squeezing out the remaining blobs of last season’s Banana Boat sun screen to lather up last Monday, I was digging through the record books for the coldest Nashua February on record. Any guesses?

It was 2015, when Browning Avenue was converted into an Olympic luge run as the temperature only exceeded freezing on three days all month. And five winters ago, the Gate City recorded its 10th snowiest season. It was a record-setting Arctic winter as the jet stream parked itself over Holman Stadium until finally being evicted by the Silver Knights, during one of the few seasons they did not win a championship.

“I recall my hot chocolate freezing over during a night game in July,” recalled loyal fan Skippy. “My kids were sliding down the remaining snow piles in the parking lot while the players wore their Columbia winter whites,” Skip recalled.

I forgot to ask Skippy if he added any Kahlua to his beverage.

Nashua’s average February 2015 high was only 24.7 degrees with a nightly low just 0.4 degrees above zero. With only a few days left in February 2020 as I write this, we have averaged 40 for a daytime high so far and a daily minimum of 18 degrees. A far cry from 2015 and not much under Nashua’s March readings, where the average daily high is 45.

Who remembers March 31, 1999, in Nashua? (I believe that’s the correct date) I was sweating profusely under the blazing TV lights at Leda Lanes, taping channel 50s Candlepins Stars and Strikes, while it was 89-degrees outside and about 125 inside the place. I think we dispatched a producer to fetch some Slurpies from 7-11 across the street.

And while I’m thinking of it, if a record is set on February 29, should it be credited to February 28 or March 1? After all, people born on leap year get to pick which day to celebrate three out of every four years. Of course, the smart ones pick both the 28th and the first.

What you didn’t know about leap year: James Milne, the eighth premier of Tasmania, was born on February 29, 1812, and DIED on February 29, 1880, his “17th” birthday.

What you didn’t know Part deux: Sweden and Finland added February 30 to their calendars in 1712, to help catch up their outdated Julian calendar with the new Gregorian version. Julius Caesar is ultimately responsible for the second month having just 28 days, and in Nashua in 2015, 28 days was about 28 days too long with record cold and lots of snow.

Next time, we get hit with a 2015-type winter, let’s skip February and make July 62 days instead of 31. Who’s with me on this?

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