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.