February 2022 Review

It's time to take our look back at February 2022. Was it a warm one, a cold one, or a normal one? Let's find out.

High Temperatures

A cool start to February 2022 was followed by a warm week-and-a-half, and then things bounced around for the rest of the month. 14 Highs were above-average, and 14 were below. The above-average days included 4 which were the warmest in 30 years.

February 2022 had 13 Highs above freezing, when we average about 12. That included 9 Highs which reached 5°C, when the average is about ~5. The coldest High was -18.5°C on the 21st.

Warm Winter Days

For the "deep" winter months of December-February we had 34 Highs above freezing, and the average is ~33. That included 18 days which reached 5°C, compared to an average of ~13.

Low Temperatures

February 2022's Lows had a really warm week from the 6th~15th, but the rest of the month was actually a little cool. There were 14 below-average Lows and 14 above-average. The warms days included 3 warmest-in-30-years Lows.

February averages ~6 Lows of -20°C, and 2022 had 7, including -26.2°C on the 2nd. We also had 2 above-freezing Lows, which are fairly unusual: 2021 had 1, 2016 had 4, 2015 had 1, etc.

Cold Winter Days

At the end of February we have had 32 Lows reach -20°C, compared to an average of about 25 for this point of the winter. 

That included 17 Lows which reached -25°C, when the average is about 11. That's the most since 1996-1997 had 24.

Deepfreeze Season

Historically our -20°C season stretched from November through April. In recent years it peaks in the first week of January, and then after that the likelihood of hitting -20°C stays about the same from mid-January through March 8th. We can still hit -20°C after March 8th, but it becomes much less likely.


Warm & Cold Months

With a mix of warm and cool days February 2022 ends up a bit above average. The average High of -2.6°C was our 47th warmest on record. The average Low of -12.3°C was 39th warmest.

On a monthly basis, February is a medium-size orange bubble. The average High was 2.3°C warmer than the 20th century average, while the Low was 3°C warmer. In recent years almost all of our Januarys have been "warm", while February is a bit more variable.

For the "deep" winter months of December-February the average High of -6.3°C was Edmonton's 75th warmest on record, and the average Low of -15.2°C was 60th.

Across Canada

Across the country February 2022 was mostly above average, except in Winnipeg (and Regina). For Winnipeg that also follows a cool December and January.

Winnipeg

Since mid-December Winnipeg's Low have been mostly stuck below average. January was a little below average, but the February Highs were bottom-30 coldest and Lows were bottom-20 coldest.

Snowfall

February is typically our main winter month with the least snowfall, averaging 14cm. And February 2022 was average with 13.8cm. February also averages 9 days with snow, and 2022 had 12.

So far we have had 87.1cm of snow, which is just above the average of 81cm. November was below average, December was above, and January and February were average. By the end of a whole winter we usually average around 120cm.

Snowdepth

At the end of February the snowdepth at the 3 local stations was all in the range of 15~20cm, which is just below the average of 22cm. The really warm week at the beginning of the month caused snow levels to drop significantly at all the stations.

The big spring melt can start in the first week of March, but depending on the temperatures and the snowfall sometimes it doesn't end until mid-April.

Snow Across Canada

A messy chart, with snowfall so far for all these cities. Vancouver is down on its own at 37cm. Then Calgary and Edmonton are next with 71cm and 87cm And then everyone else is in the big pack from Montréal with 134cm to St. John's with 186cm.

Winnipeg

Winnipeg, in addition to having a pretty cool winter is also having a pretty snowy one. November-February have all been above average, with this months 48.4cm as their 4th snowiest February on record.

This is what snowdepth looks like throughout the winter. Edmonton has been high since mid-December. Winnipeg just recently jumped up. Ottawa saw a jump from their big storm in January. Calgary, Montréal and St. John's are all pretty quiet this winter.

March Temperatures

March averages 20 days with Highs above freezing, and most will start to hit 10°C. 

March also averages about 3 -20°C Lows, though. Recent -20°C-free Marches were 2021, 2016, 2015, 2012, 2010... 

March's snowfall is around 20cm, which is pretty typical for our winter months.