After the coldest and snowiest winter in recent decades, climatologists predict a rather cold March in Winnipeg.
David Phillips, the senior climatologist at Environment Canada, has already called this the coldest in the last 40 years in the city. According to him, the average air temperature was seven degrees below normal this winter in Winnipeg.
"I'm not talking about the wind chill — when it gets this cold you don't need to embellish that kind of cold," he said.
According to Environment Canada statistics, there were 4 days in February when the temperature was below 30 degrees Celsius. The coldest day was February 10, when the temperature dropped to -33.8 C. As climatologists explain, such a sharp cooling in February was caused the polar vortex. However, despite the abnormal cold, this February for Winnipeg turned out to be the snowiest in the last 32 years. The ground was covered with about 43 centimetres of snow.
"Let's put to rest this myth that it is ever too cold to snow," Phillips said.
According to Environment Canada, the average temperature in March in Winnipeg is around -6 degrees C. Phillips predict this march to be colder than normal. Although many Winnipeggers are eagerly awaiting a rise in temperature, the climatologist believes that this situation is even better after such a snowy winter.
"You want to ease into this because of the potential for flooding. And I think that's what we're going to see. You have to be patient," Phillips said. "What you want is maple syrup … melting during the day and freezing at night to get rid of it, so it doesn't become standing water instantly."
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