February 2012 Weather Summary for Winnipeg
















* Rainfall amount taken in St.Vital

    With an average mean temperature of -10.1°C, February 2012 went into the records as the 14th mildest February since records began in 1873, tied with 1981 and 1992. The month came on the heels of the 9th mildest December and 3rd mildest January. As a result, this winter (Dec/Jan/Feb) was the 4th mildest winter since records began in 1873, with an average mean temperature of -9.7°C. That is an amazing 5.6°C above the normal winter mean temperature of -15.3°C.

Top 5 warmest winters (mean temperature)

1. -7.2°C 1877/1878
2. -8.2°C 1997/1998
3. -9.5°C 1986/1987
4. -9.7°C 2011/2012
5. -10.1°C 1930/1931

    At the Winnipeg Airport, only 3 days had temperatures above zero in February, not overly impressive. However,
most surrounding areas saw many more. Here at my place in the south end, there were 10 days this month with temperatures above zero. Morden to the southwest of the city saw an amazing 17 days above zero this month, 5 of which were above 5°C.

     February 5 was the warmest day of the month with highs in Winnipeg generally around 7°C. The high of 6.8°C at the airport was just shy of the old record high of 7.2°C in 1963.

    A stagnant air mass with light winds and abundant moisture during the first few days of the month created the perfect reciper for thick fog. Morning fog was the norm with it being reported for three or four straight days. It was extremely thick at times, proving to be a challenge for drivers especially on highways. On the bright side, the fog created an amazing winter spectacle of hoar frost. The following four photos are just a few of the wonderful picture submissions that were sent to The Weather Network (therefore I don't take credit for them):

    Many days in February looked and felt more like spring than February. Snow depth generally remained under 10 cm up to the 21st. Lawns had many bare spots and thanks to warm temperatures it was muddy on some days. This was in sharp contrast to last year when snow depth was well over 30 or 40 cm. This year it was hard to believe that a normal afternoon high was closer to -10°C; we were well above that on many occasions. February 10 was basically the only cold day. But that isn't saying much considering we escaped -30°C once again. As a result, we have not yet hit -30°C this winter, just the second time that has happened since 1873. The last time it happened was back in the winter of 1930/1931.

    The last week and a half of the month featured a dramatic turn-around. All of a sudden we entered into a fairly active weather pattern with frequent snow storms in our vicinity. The strongest system hit on February 20 and 21. The sharpness of the snow shield separated the city of Winnipeg in half, with minimal accumulations of 2-4 cm in western areas, and around 10 cm in southern and eastern areas. West of the city, little to nothing fell. South and east of the city, up to 20 cm fell, ending our long spell of snow-free weather.

    Other systems in the few days that followed just added to the rising snow depth. By the end of the week, almost 20 cm of snow had fallen in southern parts of Winnipeg, while over 30 cm had fallen near Steinbach. That’s more snow than we had in January and early February combined!

Extra pictures of February 2012:


Comparison Between winter 2011 and winter 2012 in Winnipeg.. Big difference in snowfall