May 2022 Summary

A hot and dry May 

**Note that the UW Weather Station’s main controller stopped working at the end of January, while we are waiting for a replacement, the data for this month’s summary comes from readings taken at the Waterloo Regional Airport**

After the first week, which was close to average, the rest of the month was mostly well above average including 5 days above 25°C from the 11th to the 15th and the first day over 30°C on the last day of the month.  Overall it was 1.3 degrees above average, making it the warmest May since 2018.

Assuming we have seen the last below zero temperature until the fall, the last freezing day was May 8th, this is just a day later than the average in the last 20 years.  

It was dry for most of the month, including a 10 day period with no measured precipitation.  With only 2 days that had more than 10 mm of rain, it is not surprising that at 60.6 mm the total precipitation was well below the average of 82.3 mm.

This dry month puts the total for the year so far at 274.6 mm, well below the average of 340.2 mm.

Summary for May 2022:
Maximum Temperature 31.1°C
Minimum Temperature -1.7°C
Average Daily High Temperature 20.6°C (Long term average 18.5°C)
Average Daily Low Temperature 6.9°C (Long term average 6.4°C)
Total Precipitation 60.6 mm (Long term average 82.3 mm)

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

April 2022 Summary

A cold and dry April 

**Note that the UW Weather Station’s main controller stopped working at the end of January, while we are waiting for a replacement, the data for this month’s summary comes from readings taken at the Waterloo Regional Airport**

As is typical during the Spring, the temperature we saw during April was a bit of a roller coaster ride from low single digit to mid-20 highs.  The high of 25.9°C on the 24th was the second highest April temperature in the last 10 years.  However, overall the temperature was almost a degree below average, putting it in the below average range.

The little precipitation we had during April was spread pretty evenly over the month.  The maximum daily precipitation of 11.4 mm on the 21st was the (stay with me here) lowest maximum daily precipitation in the last 10 years.  It stands to reason then that the total precipitation of 42.8 mm was well below the average of 74.5 mm and in the below average range.

This dry month brings the total of the year (214.0 mm) to much less than the average at this time of year (264.4 mm).

The total snowfall that came down during the month of 7.0 cm was very close to the average of 7.3 cm.  This put the total for the snowfall season at 176.5 cm, well above the average of 159.7 cm and perhaps this is the last time I’ll mention snow until the Fall (or did I just jinx it).

Summary for April 2022:

Maximum Temperature 25.9°C
Minimum Temperature -5.9°C
Average Daily High Temperature 10.9°C (Long term average 11.5°C)
Average Daily Low Temperature -0.5°C (Long term average 0.8°C)
Total Precipitation 42.8 mm (Long term average 74.5 mm)

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

March 2022 Summary

An average March for both temperature and precipitation

**Note that the UW Weather Station’s main controller stopped working at the end of January, while we are waiting for a replacement, the data for this month’s summary comes from readings taken at the Waterloo Regional Airport**

It was a roller coaster ride for the temperature throughout the month with warm and cold periods at different times.  The cold temperatures at the beginning and end of the month were offset by a warm week in the middle.  The overall temperature was 0.6 degrees above average which is still within the average range.

The precipitation was scattered pretty evenly throughout the month, with the highest single day coming in at 19.7 mm.  The total of 52.2 mm was less than the average of 61.0 mm, but like the temperature it was within the average range.  The total precipitation so far this year of 171.2 mm is only a little bit less than the average of 187.6 mm.

The amount of snowfall we got this March of 21.0 cm was a bit less than the 26.5 cm of snow that we get on average.  The puts the total for the snowfall season at 169.5 cm, so we have already had more than the average for a typical season of 159.7 cm.

Summary for March 2022:

Maximum Temperature 19.4°C
Minimum Temperature -16.8°C
Average Daily High Temperature 4.4°C (Long term average 3.6°C)
Average Daily Low Temperature -5.3°C (Long term average -5.6°C)
Total Precipitation 52.2 mm (Long term average 61.0 mm)

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

February 2022 Summary

A cold February with lots of precipitation

**Note that the UW Weather Station’s main controller stopped working at the end of January, while we are waiting for a replacement, the data for this month’s summary comes from readings taken at the Waterloo Regional Airport**

Even with a couple of sets of warm days, the number of really cold days (and particularly some very cold nights) put the overall temperature at 1.2 degrees colder than average.  After a cold January, it was the first time we saw 2 colder than average months in a row since mid-2020.

February is typically the month with the lowest precipitation, but this year it was pretty wet.  The total of 78.4 mm was well above the average of 54.9 mm, making it the wettest in the past 5 years.

A few big storms during the month resulted in a snowfall total of 51.5 cm, well above the average of 30.3 cm for February.  As well, it is not just your imagination, there has been lots of snow so far this year.  The total since the Fall is now 148.5 cm, which is more than the average of 125.6 cm for this point in the snowfall season.

Summary for February 2022:

Maximum Temperature 8.1°C
Minimum Temperature -25.0°C
Average Daily High Temperature -1.4°C (Long term average -1.2°C)
Average Daily Low Temperature -11.9°C (Long term average -9.7°C)
Total Precipitation 78.4 mm (Long term average 54.9 mm)

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

January 2022 Summary

A cold and dry January 

It was a very cold month, with an overall temperature that was almost 4 degrees below average.  This January was tied with 2014, so you have to go back even further to 2009 to find one that was colder.  It might have felt even more frigid as it was close to 6 degrees below last year and 8 degrees colder than the year before.  The freezing temperatures were sustained as it didn’t go above zero during the last half of the month.  

The low temperature of -32.4°C on the 29th was the second lowest temperature we have ever seen since the UW Weather station was established back in February of 1998.  The all-time low was -35.5°C on Feb 16, 2015.

Apart from the one storm that came through on the 17th (more about that later), it was pretty dry for the rest of the month.  The final total of 40.6 mm was below the average range.

About that storm on the 17th, it was probably the second or third highest snowfall total since we started measuring daily snowfall at the station in 2001.  What makes it difficult to know for sure it that snowfall is only measured once a day, thus the totals for larger storms are often not captured.  So although the total for the entire storm was 33.0 cm, 

the single day measurement was only 22.5 cm.  But this was the highest single day total since March 9, 2005 when we had 31.5 cm.

Although it was a dry month, as the precipitation pretty much all came down as snow, the total snowfall of 51.5 cm was higher than the average of 43.7 cm for the month.  This made it the snowiest January since 2013 when we had 54 cm.  Overall for the snowfall season we are at 97.0 cm, very close to the average of 95.3 cm for this point in the season.

Summary for January 2022:

Maximum Temperature 3.5°C
Minimum Temperature -32.4°C
Average Daily High Temperature -4.4°C (Long term average -2.6°C)
Average Daily Low Temperature -16.3°C (Long term average -10.3°C)
Total Precipitation 40.6 mm (Long term average 65.2 mm)

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