Spring Solstice 2023

So we all know that the spring equinox isn't necessarily they end to our wintery weather, but by this point most of winter should be in the past.

So let's take a look back at the "winter" of 2022-2023...

By March 20th our average Highs are solidly above freezing again, which hadn't happened since early November. Our average Lows are still below freezing, but at -6.5°C that's well up from the December through February average of around -14°C.



The Horserace

November 1st 2022 through March 19th 2023 ends up as our 79th warmest "winter" on record out of 142, with an average temperature that was right on the 20th century average. The Highs were a little cool in 88th spot, and the Lows were a little warm in 72nd.

Across the country November-March was a little cool in the west, but pretty warm further east. The winter Highs were top-10 in Toronto, Ottawa, Montréal and Halifax.

The temperatures in Central Canada were above the 20th century average for the whole winter, while the Prairies and Vancouver were cool in November & December.

For Edmonton, November had a few cold days, but December had the big deepfreeze right before Christmas. We then had 52 days below freezing, although most were pretty mild. Then things warmed up in late-January & early-February, before leading into a cool start to March.



Cold Days

We're probably done with our -20°C Lows for the winter. 2022-2023 had 23, which is just a bit below our average of 25. We had a bunch of them at the start and end of December, and then a few more scattered around.

That included 10 Lows of -25°C, when we average around 12.

And we had 3 Lows of -30°C, when we average around 4. The coldest was -34.1°C on December 21st.

We've had 6 winters in-a-row with at least 3 Lows that reached -30°C.

The last time we had that many in a row was the late 60's and early 70's.



Cold Days Across Canada

For -20°C Lows across the country everyone was just a little low this winter. Saskatoon had the most with 53 (so far).

For -30°C Lows everyone was also a little Low, and Saskatoon was also at the top with 12.



Warm Days

From November 1st through March 19th we had 46 Highs of 0°C or more, which is quite a bit below our average of 59.5°C Highs were also low, with 20 while we average 27.

The 52-days below-freezing streak from late-November through mid-January didn't help.



Snowfall

It's been a low-snow winter for us. So far we only have 63.9cm, and by this point of the winter we average 95.8cm. It's not over yet though, because in April & May we average another 20cm.

Compared to the rest of the country Edmonton's 63.9cm of snow is down near the bottom, and just above Vancouver's 54.3. Calgary has 150cm, Montréal and St. John's are over 200cm, and Ottawa is over 300cm (currently its 7th snowiest winter).



Snowdepth

We are at the part of the winter where our snowdepth starts dropping. The cool start to March kept things high for the early part of the month, but just since March 15th all of the local stations have seen a drop.

And across the country the snowdepth in most the cities has started to drop. St. John's is still at the top at 34cm, and Ottawa is next with 29cm.

Ottawa had the highest snowdepth this winter with 68cm, although as usual Edmonton has had snow for the longest.

February 2023 Review

Let's take a look back at Edmonton's weather for February 2023.

February 2023 ends up as a warm~ish month, with temperatures pretty typical for a modern February. The average High of -2.9°C was our 50th warmest since 1880. The average Low of -12.5°C was the 44th warmest.



High Temperatures

February 2023 started a little cool, then was warm for a few weeks, then we had a few days of the typical February deepfreeze, and the month ended a little cool. Overall we had 15 Highs above average and 13 below.

In February we average around 11 Highs above freezing, and 2023 had 14. That included 8 of 5°C or more, when we average about 4. 

We also had 3 Highs reach -20°C, when February often has none.

For the winter so far we've had 9 days with Highs of -20°C, when the average is around 8. Last winter in 2021-2022 we had 14.



Low Temperatures

February 2023's Lows were above average for most of the month, but with a few cool days at the start and the end. Overall we had 16 Lows above average and 12 below.

In February we average 7 days with Lows of -20°C, and in 2023 we had 5. That included 3 Lows of -25°C, when the average is 2.

The coldest Low was -27.8°C on the 22nd. Since 2000 only a handful of Februarys have reached -30°C: 2021, 2019, 2018 & 2008.

So far this winter we've had 23 Lows reach -20°C, when we average around 26 for a whole winter. That includes 10 Lows of -25°C, which is around average.

...from March 1st onwards there still a chance that we'll reach -20°C again. 2019, 2014, 2011 & 2009 all still had 3 Lows reach -20°C. But lots of other years are done with deepfreezes by this point.



Warm & Cold Months

Despite the short deepfreeze February 2023 still ranks as a "warm" February, and gets an orange bubble. The average High of -2.9°C was 2°C above the 20th century average. The average Low of -12.5°C was 2.7°C warmer.

At the end of February 2023 ranks as our 18th warmest year on record, with average temperatures 0.74°C above the 20th century average. The Highs are 22nd warmest and Lows are 18th warmest.



Across Canada

February 2023's temperatures were above the 20th century average across most of the country, with Vancouver, Halifax & St. John's just a little cool.



Snow

February is on average the least snowy of our main winter months, with 14cm. In 2023 we were just a little low with 11.8cm.

By the end of February we average around 82cm of snow. In 2023 we're sitting quite a bit below that with 61.2cm, with is right around our 25th percentile. So it's pretty low, but not extremely low.



Snow Across Canada

The big snow cities for February 2023 were St. John's with 123cm, and Ottawa with 76cm.

For big snow storms: St. John's had 33.8cm on the 14th Toronto had 17.4cm on the 22nd Ottawa had 15.6cm on the 23rd and 15.4cm on the 28th Montréal had 15.2cm on the 28th Everything else was under 15cm.

This messy chart has the snow totals for the winter so far. Ottawa is still at the top with 280cm, although St. John's made a big jump up to 225cm. Edmonton's 61.2cm is near the bottom, just a bit below Halifax's 62.4cm, and above Vancouver's 54cm.



Snowdepth

At the end of February our average snowdepth is around 23cm. The airport is around average, while Elk Island is high, and Stony Plain and Campsie are low. We're only about a week or so from the point where our average snowdepth starts dropping.

Across the country Ottawa and St. John's are the leaders for snowdepth right now, although that will start to change quickly in March.



March

March averages 20 days with Highs above freezing, and we often start to hit 10°C. March also averages about 3 -20°C Lows, though. March's average snowfall is 20cm, which is pretty typical for our winter months.