Winter 2018-19 in Victora - colder and slightly drier than normal

Meteorological winter runs from December 1 to February 28.  Overall, this past winter was colder and slightly drier than normal.  The winter started out mild in December and January, but then turned much colder than normal in February.  

The mean temperature this past winter at Victoria Gonzales was 5.2 degrees, compared with the 30-year average of 5.8 degrees.  Winter 2018-19 was 9^th coldest winter in Victoria in the past 30 years.  This was Victoria’s third colder than average winter in a row.   This winter started out quite mild: December was 1.2 degrees above normal while January was 1.1 degrees above normal.  However, this was followed by a very cold February: more than 4 degrees below normal and the coldest since 1936.    

The chart below shows the daily maximum and minimum temperatures at Victoria Gonzales during winter 2018-19, compared with the 30-year averages.  You can see that temperatures in December and January were generally above average, while temperatures in February were well below average, especially during the first part of the month.  The mildest day of the winter was 13.5 degrees on December 14.  The coldest temperature was -5.6 degrees on February 4.

Daily Max & Min temperatures at Victoria Gonzales, winter 2018-19

Victoria received 231 mm of precipitation during the December to February period.  That's about 12% less than the 30-year average winter precipitation of 264 mm.  Precipitation was slightly above average in December (104 mm versus the normal 96 mm), but then significantly below average in January (82 mm versus 107 mm) and February (46 mm versus 61 mm).  

There were 39 days with measurable precipitation this winter, with 17 days in December, 10 days in January, and 12 days in February.  That's below the normal of 45 days with measurable precipitation that Victoria typically sees during the winter.  

The chart below shows daily precipitation during winter 2018-19, and compares the cumulative precipitation with the 30-year average.   Precipitation levels were generally close to the average until mid-January and into February, when the cumulative precipitation fell below average.  The wettest day of the winter was January 3^rd, with nearly 36 mm of rain.

Daily & Cumulative Precipitation at Victoria Gonzales, winter 2018-19

The chart below compares the precipitation amounts in Victoria this winter with other locations in the region.  As is typically the case, Victoria Gonzales had the lowest amount, with a total of 232 mm.  Victoria Airport had 375 mm mm of precipitation throughout the winter, about 60% more than Victoria Gonzales.  It was wetter still in Vancouver, with 471 mm at the Vancouver Airport and 565 mm at Vancouver Harbour - nearly 2.5 times what Victoria received.  Seattle received 368 mm of precipitation during the winter.  That's about the same as Victoria Airport received, but nearly 60% more than Victoria Gonzales.  

Comparison of total winter precipitation, 2018-19

The other significant feature about winter 2018-19 was the significant snowfall that Victoria received in February.  Victoria received 26 cm of snow - all recorded in February.  On average, Victoria receives about 4 cm of snow in February and 20 cm during the entire winter.  Most of the snow this winter fell between February 8 and 12.  There was snow on the ground for 6 days, from February 11 to 16.  On average, Victoria gets 4.8 days each winter with snow on the ground.