February 2023

A very warm February with lots of precipitation

First off, a special note that this month marked the 25th anniversary of the UW Weather station.  Thanks to everyone who has contributed to the UW Weather Station over the past 25 years. We are planning an open house to celebrate later in the year, look for an announcement coming soon.

With the cold end to the month, it might be hard to remember just how warm it started out with only 2 colder than average days in the first 21.  As a result, the overall temperature was 3 degrees higher than average, this makes it the sixth warmest February in the history of weather records in the region, which go back to 1914.

As well, looking at the meteorological winter (December-January-February), the average temperature was -2.1°C.  This was the third warmest winter only behind 2001-02 and 1931-32. 

Overall, the month of February saw 85.0 mm of precipitation, well above the average of 54.9 mm, more than any month last year and the most since October 2021.  There was one particularly wet day on the ninth when we had 35.6 cm of precipitation (the fourth wettest single day in February).

With over 2 weeks during the month when we received no snow, the few storms in the last week only got the snowfall total to 22.0 cm, well below the average of 30.3 cm for February.  The total since the Fall is now 97.0 cm, which compares to 125.6 cm for this point in the snowfall season.

It is also that time of year for the annual UW Weather Station Contest where you have to guess when the first time the station’s temperature will go above 20°C.  You can get details about the contest and put in your guess here:

http://weather.uwaterloo.ca/contest_2023/contest_entry_period.asp

Summary for February 2023:

Maximum Temperature 12.3°C

Minimum Temperature -19.7°C

Average Daily High Temperature 2.2°C (Long term average -1.2°C)

Average Daily Low Temperature -7.2°C (Long term average -9.7°C)

Total Precipitation 85.0 mm (Long term average 54.9 mm)

(Long term averages based on 1981-2010 data for the Waterloo-Wellington Airport)