May 2015 Summary

A very warm May with just barely average precipitation

Although it went below zero a couple of times during the month, overall it was three and half degrees higher than average making it the warmest May since 1998.  This was also the first warmer than average month we have seen this year.

Up until the last 2 days of the month it was looking like this May might have been one of the driest every recorded in the region.  However, the almost 50 mm in those last 2 days managed to get the total (61.6 mm) just into the bottom end of the average range.

The total precipitation for the year so far (260.3 mm) is still considerably less than the average for this time of year (337.7 mm).

Summary for May 2015:

Maximum Temperature 30.4°C

Minimum Temperature -0.8°C

Average Daily High Temperature 22.6°C (Long term average 18.5°C)

Average Daily Low Temperature 9.0°C (Long term average 6.1°C)

Total Precipitation 61.6 mm (Long term average 82.3 mm)

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

April 2015 Summary

A very average April for both temperature and precipitation

There were quite a few really warm days during the month, but these were offset by a cold spell during the last half of the month.  It was an average month for temperature as the overall temperature was just 0.1 degrees below the average and the first month of the year that wasn’t in the colder than average range.

It was also a pretty typical April for precipitation with a just few storms here and there.  The 77.0 mm we saw was a bit higher that the average of 74.5 mm, but still within the average range.

A close to average month for precipitation means that we didn’t really close the gap between what we have seen so far this year (198.7 mm) and that we would expect at this point in the year (264.4 mm).

I’m hoping it is now safe to call an end to the 2014-15 snowfall season, with April adding 3 cm, the total for the season was 127.5 cm.  This is a lot less than the average of 159.7 cm and the lowest total since 2011-12.  I would like to thank our snow measurement volunteers Melinda, Eric, Stephen, and Dave.


Summary for April 2015:
Maximum Temperature 21.1°C
Minimum Temperature -6.1°C
Average Daily High Temperature 11.8°C (Long term average 11.5°C)
Average Daily Low Temperature 0.4°C (Long term average 0.8°C)
Total Precipitation 77.0 mm (Long term average 74.5 mm)

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

March 2015 Summary

A cold and dry March

Although it was a cold month, it certainly wasn’t as cold as the February that just passed or March of last year. Compared to last year’s March, which was 5.6 degrees colder than average, this March was “only” 1.3 degrees colder.

There were only a few days with a small amount of precipitation, staying below average for the entire month. The total of 23.9 mm much less than the average of 61.0 mm.

With another dry month, the total for the year of 121.7 mm is well below the 187.6 mm that we would expect at this point in the year.

We only had 6.5 cm of snow during March, about a quarter of the average of 26.5 cm. Of course we usually see some snow after March, so I’m not calling an end to the snowfall season, but we currently stand at 124.5 cm of snow since the fall compared to the average of 159.7 cm.

Summary for March 2015:
Maximum Temperature 14.1°C
Minimum Temperature -26.4°C
Average Daily High Temperature 2.8°C (Long term average 3.6°C)
Average Daily Low Temperature -7.5°C (Long term average -5.6°C)

Total Precipitation 23.9 mm (Long term average 61.0 mm)

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

February 2015 Summary

The coldest month on record with average precipitation

Not only was it the coldest February in the 100 years of weather records in the region, but it was also the coldest of any month.  The average temperature was -15.1°C, putting it well below the previous coldest months which were February 1934 (-13.3°C) and January 1994 (-13.2°C).  Even though last year seemed really cold at the time, at an average of -11.6°C, it was practically balmy compared to this year.

Overall, it was over 9 degrees below average with many of the daily high temperatures not even getting up to the average low temperatures for that day.  Also of note was the low temperature we saw on Family Day (Feb 16) which was -34.9°C, beating the previous low of -32.3°C on January 27, 2005.

The precipitation got off to a fast start for the month but ended in the average range with 48.2 mm (note that because the solid precipitation gauge at the UW weather station was not working this is based on the Environment Canada station called ”Waterloo Wellington 2”).  The snowfall we received of 54 cm was well above the average of 30.3 cm for the month.

Summary for February 2015:

Maximum Temperature -1.7°C

Minimum Temperature -34.9°C

Average Daily High Temperature -8.9°C (Long term average -1.2°C)

Average Daily Low Temperature -21.2°C (Long term average -9.7°C)

Total Precipitation 48.2 mm (Long term average 54.9 mm)

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

January 2015 Summary

A cold January with average precipitation

With only a few scattered days that were above average, it is not that surprising that the month was very cold (overall 3 degrees below average).  However, it might be surprising that it was not that much colder than last year’s (much hyped) January.  Although it was February and March that really made last winter stand out, so we still have a long way to go to match it.

After a wet start to the month, the rest was pretty dry, causing us to end within the average range.  As far as snow, the 34 cm that came down was below the average of 43.7 cm.

As well, a bit of milestone here as this month marks the 10^th year that I have been doing these weather station summaries (and if you didn’t know, you can see all ten years of the summaries on the UW weather station website here: http://www.weather.uwaterloo.ca/data.html#chart ).

Summary for January 2015:

Maximum Temperature 4.8°C

Minimum Temperature -25.3°C

Average Daily High Temperature -4.3°C (Long term average -2.6°C)

Average Daily Low Temperature -14.9°C (Long term average -10.3°C)

Total Precipitation 49.6 mm (Long term average 65.2 mm)

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