A very cold February in Victoria!

A snowy Victoria Inner Harbour on February 12, 2019

February 2019 was the coldest February in Victoria since 1936.  The mean monthly temperature was just 2.2 C, more than 4 degrees colder than the 30-year average mean monthly February temperature of 6.3 C.  It's very unusual to have such a large anomaly for the mean monthly temperature in Victoria.  The average daily maximum temperature was 4.7 C, which is 4.1 degrees cooler than the normal February maximum of 8.8 C.  The average daily minimum temperature was -0.4 C, which was 4.2 degrees cooler than the normal February minimum of 3.8 C.  This is the first month since November 1985 that Victoria Gonzales has recorded an average minimum temperature below 0. 

Perhaps even more impressive, this past month was the coldest of any month at Victoria Gonzales since November 1985 (34 years).  In the past 50 years, there have only been two other months which have been colder than this February: November 1985 (1.8 C) and January 1972 (2.1 C).  

The coldest temperature this month was -5.6 C on February 4.  The warmest temperature was 9.0 C on February 1.  There were 13 days this month when the overnight low was below 0 C.  This is the most "frost days" in February at Victoria Gonzales since 1936, when there was 17 days.  What is most notable about the cold weather this month is how the temperatures have stayed consistently below normal since February 3.  With 26 consecutive days below normal in February, and the cool weather forecast to continue into March, this will likely be one of the longest stretches of below-normal temperatures recorded at Victoria Gonzales in the  past 50 years.

As the chart below shows, temperatures around the region were very cold in February, with many locations experiencing their coldest February in decades.  The mean monthly temperature was 2.2 C at Victoria Gonzales and 1.8 C at the University of Victoria. As is typical, the temperature was quite a bit colder at the Victoria Airport (1.1 C), which had its coldest February since 1989.  Vancouver Airport (0.4 C) had its coldest February on record (going back to 1937).  Seattle Airport (2.5 C) had its third coldest February on record, and its coldest since 1989.

Mean Monthly Temperature, February 2019

We can take some solace in the fact that these unusually cold temperatures have been experienced throughout much of western North America.  Calgary has also had its coldest February since 1936 (the same year Victoria experienced its coldest February).  Even Los Angeles has had its coldest February since 1962 (57 years).  

The chart below compares daily maximum and minimum temperatures with the 30-year average daily maximums and minimums.  Temperatures plummeted on February 3rd, and remained extremely cold for the remainder of the first half of the month, with high temperatures most days not even reaching the average low temperature.  The second half of the month was slightly less cold, though still below normal.  

Daily Maximum and Minimum Temperatures at Victoria Gonzales, February 2019

In terms of precipitation, February 2019 was somewhat drier than normal, with 46.2 mm of precipitation versus the 30-year average of 61.4 mm.  The unusual thing about this month was how much of this precipitation fell as snow.  A total of 26 cm of snow fell in Victoria during the month, making it the snowiest month since December 2008.  Normal February snowfall in Victoria is 3.6 cm.  There was measurable snow on the ground for 7 days during the month, including 5 days with more than 2.5 cm on the ground.  Victoria actually got off lightly, since many locations around the region received significantly  more snowfall, including 68 cm at the Victoria Airport in North Saanich.

The chart below shows daily and cumulative precipitation at Victoria Gonzales.  The precipitation from February 3rd to 14th all fell as snow.  The wettest day was February 11th, with 14.8 mm of precipitation, which translated into about 16 cm of snow.   The second half of the month was quite dry.

Daily and Cumulative Precipitation at Victoria Gonzales, February 2019

The timing of winter in Victoria

The winter season can have different meanings, and its exact timing tends to vary from place to place.  Astronomical winter is from the winter solstice (roughly December 21) to the spring equinox (roughly March 21).  Meteorological winter is from December 1 to February 28. 

In Victoria, our winter (the coolest, cloudiest, and rainiest time of year) tends to come early.  On average, the coldest temperatures occur in late December.  By contrast, in most locations in the eastern half of Canada, the coldest temperatures of the winter tend to be in late January - a full month later.  The chart below shows the average daily maximum temperature in Victoria for astronomical winter (the blue line is the daily maximum temperature and the red line is a moving average weekly temperature to smooth out the trend).  You can see that temperatures tend to steadily increase throughout the winter, from about 6.5 C in late December to 11.5 C in late March. 

Average daily maximum temperatures in Victoria during the winter

Other aspects of Victoria's winter also tend to come early.  The rainiest month in Victoria is November, followed by December and January.  As we progress through the winter, it tends to get less and less rainy.  Victoria is most likely to receive snow in December, but the chances of snow decline later in the winter, particularly as we get into February.  December is the cloudiest month in Victoria, but sunshine starts to increase in January, then really increases in February and March. 

It's nice that we get the worst part of our winter over with in November and December, then we can look forward to gradually improving conditions after that!