In the modern society we tend to think of February as the proverbial “love month.” In ancient times, this month was named after the Roman God of the Underworld and Purification, Februus. What does this have to do with UFOs and the month of February? Absolutely nothing.
But if we consider February with regard to UFO sightings, then it’s a dubious connection. During the 15-year period of 2001-2015, February has the lowest number of reported UFO sightings on record, a mere 7,000. Nationwide during the sample period, February averages 466 reported UFO sighting per year.
I can hear many of you saying that February is numbingly cold in the winter. That does make logical sense for the states in the northern latitudes from New England to the Pacific Northwest. In the north, the sighting counts peak in the warmer months of May through September. Likewise, the UFO sight reports fall off in the winter months.
What we discovered examining the data is as we move southward into the middle latitudes from Virginia through the Midwest to Nevada and Northern California, the monthly UFO sighting numbers start to flatten out with only a bump during the warmer months.
As we move down to Florida through to the Southwest, the UFO sighting reports are relatively flat. Yet no matter what state you are in, February is the lowest sighting month in the year. Even in the relatively flat Deep South states, February is consistent dip.
Let’s talk about the numbers. February hosts only 5.8 percent of the over-100,000 sightings during the 15-year sample period.
California has the top number of UFO sighting reports for February with 1,071 for the period. North Dakota had the least for the period, with only five for the entire 15 years during February. The average for the 7,000 UFO sightings is 137. Tennessee holds the midway honor with 141 UFO sightings. The statistical standard deviation for these the month of February is 175.8. The state with the most sightings is North Carolina with 177 reports.
Let’s look at some recent sightings during February from around the country:
Feb. 1, 2016: At 8 p.m., a resident of Mesa, Ariz., witnessed three bright yellow, pulsing lights.
Feb. 1, 2016: At 10:50 p.m., a resident of Tempe, Ariz., reported four orange fireball objects.
Feb. 1, 2016: At 11 p.m., a resident of Dawsonville, Ga., witnessed a bright white object performing figure eight maneuvers.
Feb. 2, 2016: At 6:30 p.m., a resident of Mobile, Ala., observed orange fireballs.
Feb. 2, 2016: At 12:45 p.m., a resident of Buffalo, N.Y., heard a loud clap of thunder and observed a bright green object fly by at great speed.
If you are interested in joining a monthly UFO discussion group in the Onondaga County area, drop Cheryl an email [email protected]. If you have a UFO sighting to report, you can use either one of the two national database services: nuforc.org or mufon.com. Both services respect confidentiality.
Cheryl Costa would love to hear the when, where and what of your New York sighting. Email it to [email protected]. The names of witnesses will be omitted to protect their privacy.