After wild fluctuations, winter 2023-24 was slightly milder then normal

 Meteorological winter is from December 1 to February 29.  Winter 2023-24 was colder and drier than normal.  

The mean temperature at Victoria Gonzales this past winter was 6.5 degrees C, compared with the 30-year average of 5.8 C.  The average daily maximum temperature was 8.5 C (versus normal 7.9 C), while the average daily minimum was 4.5 C (versus the normal 3.7 C).  December was much warmer than average.  January was slightly colder than average, while February was slightly milder than average.

The chart below shows the daily maximum and minimum temperatures at Victoria Gonzales during winter 2023-24, compared with the 30-year averages.  The cold snap in mid-January really stands out, with temperatures far below normal. The temperature dropped as low as -11.5 C on January 12, the coldest temperature recorded in Victoria in 55 years (since December 1968). 

Despite the cold snap, there was also some warm weather.  December 2023 was tied with December 1939 as the warmest on record in Victoria, with a mean temperature of 7.7 C, more than 2 degrees above the 30-year average.  There was also an extraordinary mild period at the end of January, when a Pineapple Express atmospheric river brought warm subtropical air into the region.  The 5-day period from January 28 to February 1 was the mildest 5-day period ever recorded during the winter in Victoria.  The mean temperature was 11.8 C, and highs exceeded 15 C on January 29 & 30.  There were also 3 days with overnight lows above 10 C - by far the earliest that has ever occurred in Victoria.  The previous earliest occurrence was March 12. 

Winter 2023-24 saw very close to normal precipitation.

The chart below shows daily precipitation during winter 2023-24, and compares the cumulative precipitation with the 30-year average.  Precipitation tracked close to average throughout the winter.  December and February were both slightly drier than normal, while January was slightly wetter than normal.  The wettest day of the winter was December 4th, when 19.4 mm fell.  

While precipitation was average, the number of days with measurable precipitation was above average: 51 days during winter 2023-24 vs. the 30-year average of 46.3 days.

Winter 2023-24 saw less snow than normal.  There was 8.5 cm of snow compared with the normal 14 cm.  All of the snow was recorded in January.  There were 3 days with at least 2 cm of snow on the ground - close to the 30-year average of 3.2 days for the winter.

Victoria's weather in 2023: Warmer and much drier than normal

 

2023 was warmer than normal in Victoria, and also much drier than normal - it was the 5th driest year on record at Victoria Gonzales (1898-2023).

The mean temperature for 2023 (11.0 C) was warmer than the 30-year average of 10.7 C.  2023 was tied for the 14th warmest year (out of 125 years) at Victoria Gonzales, so it almost made it into the top 10 percentile.   

The table below compares mean monthly temperatures in 2023 with the 30-year averages.  August was the warmest on record, while December was tied for the warmest.  May was also unusually warm.  January, July, and October were all about half a degree warmer than normal.  This was offset by February and April, which were both more than one degree colder than normal.  March and September were also slightly colder than normal.  

The hottest temperature of 2023 was 32.5 degrees on August 14.  There were 3 days in 2023 with daily maximums above 30 C, compared with the normal of 1.1 days.  There were 13 days with daily maximums above 25 degrees, compared with the average of 9.1 days.    

The coldest temperature of 2022 was -4.9 C on February 24.  There were 7 days in 2023 when the temperature went below 0, a little less than the long-term average of 9.5 days.  Of these days, 2 were in January and 5 were in February.  There were no below freezing temperatures in November or December.

The chart below shows the daily maximum and minimum temperatures at Victoria Gonzales in 2023, compared with the long-term normal temperatures.  The chart shows the colder than normal temperatures in February and April, as well as the warmer than normal temperatures in May, August, and December.

Victoria's annual precipitation of 431 mm in 2023 was just two-thirds of the average of 656 mm, making it the 5th driest year on record.  The table below compares the monthly precipitation in 2023 with the 30-year average.  Every  month had below normal rainfall.  January was especially dry, accounting for more than one third of the annual precipitation shortfall.

The chart below shows daily and cumulative precipitation at Victoria Gonzales for 2023.  The very dry January meant that cumulative precipitation fell below normal right from the beginning of the year, and continued to fall further below normal as the year progressed.  Along with January, late December was also unusually dry, with just 16 mm of rain during the last 3 weeks of December - it's normally one of the wettest times of the year in Victoria.

There were 118 days with measurable precipitation in 2023, compared with the normal 132 days.  The wettest day was November 2nd, with 34.8 mm of rain.  There were 2 days with more than 25 mm of rain in 2023, slightly below the average of 2.9 days annually.  

The chart below compares annual precipitation at Victoria Gonzales in 2023 with other locations in North America.  Victoria had less rainfall than Los Angeles, which was unusually wet in 2023.  Vancouver's annual precipitation in 2023 (1,159 mm) was 2.7 times as much as Victoria's.

Victoria received only 4 cm of snow in 2023, all of if in February.  That's only about 20-25% of normal.  That followed a very snowy year in 2022.