The weather outside was definitely more frightful than delightful in the Chemainus region as February came to a close.
“February, as a whole, was more wintry than usual with below normal temperatures and rainfall, and about four times the normal snowfall,” noted Chris Carss, a volunteer weather observer/recorder for Environment and Climate Change Canada at his Chemainus home.
“The heavy snow all came during the last week of the month at exactly the time when the weather should have been getting milder. Our customary pre-spring transitional season was delayed for the entire month.”
It was another cyclical month, just like January, when there were different periods of fluctuation.
The Feb. 1-13 segment, Carss noted, had seasonal conditions prevailing with near-normal temperatures, rainfalls and sunny breaks, but no snow.
From Feb. 14-17, he pointed out temperatures averaged about a degree or two below normal, while rainfalls and sunny breaks remained near normal.
For Feb. 18-20, Carss added temperatures returned to near normal, then suddenly spiked to about four degrees above normal at the end of this short and dry three-day period.
Then came the Feb. 21-28 period when Carss indicated there was a sharp drop to below-normal temperatures with below-normal rain, a few sunny breaks and some unseasonably late dumps of snow.
The statistical breakdown for the month was as follows:
Temperature Stats
Mean maximum 6.9C, normal 8.4C.
Mean minimum 1.9C, normal 2.4C.
Extreme maximum 12.5C on Feb. 20.
Extreme minimum -6.0C on Feb. 24.
Sunshine
Days mostly or partly sunny and dry 11, normal 10.
Days with mixed weather (sunshine and precipitation) 5.
Total days mostly or partly sunny (including mixed weather days) 16.
Precipitation
Total days with precipitation (including mixed weather days) 15 , normal 16.
Total days with rain 11. Accumulated rainfall 79.7 mm
Total days with snow 3. Accumulated snowfall 42.0 cm.
One additional day had rain and snow, with the separate totals included above.
On Thetis Island, Keith Rush recorded 108.4 mm of combined precipitation for February at his Foster Point Road residence.
Last year was even lower with 81.0 mm and the average February on Thetis yields 103.2 mm.
Temperatures started off a little below normal in March, but should catch up to the seasonal norms by around mid-month, according to Carss.
“Our transition to spring is expected to resume this month, with near-normal patterns of rain and occasional snow.”
@chemainusnews
don.bodger@chemainusvalleycourier.ca
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