Despite a slow decline in average temperature throughout February, the month ended up warmer than normal and the 15th warmest February in the last 56 years. The average temperature was -6.5 degrees Celsius, while the normal is -8.0 degrees Celsius.
But it was a ‘yo-yo’ month with temperatures warm enough for some maple sap to run and cold enough to re-freeze the creeks and rivers in a couple of days. The average temperature ranged from a high of almost +13 degrees Celsius to a low of -30 degrees Celsius, one of the results being we had a lot of precipitation as rain, which is unusual for February.
Total precipitation for the month was 73 mm, slightly below normal and made up of 30 mm of rain and 40 cm of snow. The month ended with a solid snow pack of 20 cm on the ground, and continuous snow cover since mid-January has kept the frost out of the ground in most locations and the tile drainage running.
March 1-4
The month has started off cool with an average temperature of -3.3 degrees Celsius, while the normal for the month is -1.4 degrees Celsius. Early days yet, but that didn’t stop the snowman who dumped 34 cm of the white stuff onto the area during the first four days of the month.
Combined with 1 mm of rain, the total precipitation for March to date is 36 mm – almost half a month’s worth! That brings the total snowfall since mid-January (when the freezing rain stopped) to over 150 cm of snow, and the snowpack is now 40 cm in depth which will be a lot of water when the thawing starts.
The forecast for March is cooler than normal (but not cold), with daytime highs hovering around zero degrees Celsius.
