Winter 2013/2014 report card: Did it make the grade in Canada?

Well, we did it! We finally made it into spring! That doesn't mean the cold and snow are going to go away and stay away, of course, but at least we've left the season of winter behind ... and what a season it was! Extreme wind chills, record snowfalls, and even some days that were colder than what was measured on the surface of Mars, millions of kilometres further away from the sun than us!

Overall, though, how did this winter compare to those in the past? Memories can be short, and we certainly 'had it easy' the past couple of years, with generally mild, dry winters thanks to La Niña and a fairly strong polar vortex, so we need to look back a bit further than that. Taking the average winter conditions over the past 30 years or so as a C+ grade (good performance), and then docking marks for colder/snowier weather and adding bonus marks for more mild/less snowy weather, let's see what kind of grades the season earned in various regions of the country...

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British Columbia probably had the most average winter for the country. The South Coast region was a little colder than normal, and they had a little bit more snow than usual. Wind chill values dipped quite a bit colder, though, due to some Arctic outflows. Further inland, conditions were colder than normal this season, with generally less snow in the valleys (just over half the seasonal average in Kamloops, for example), but some areas in the mountains (like Kicking Horse Mountain) had over twice the amount they usually get in a winter. Overall, satisfactory to good performance. C to C+ grade.

Alberta had the most inconsistent season, ranging from bitter cold and heavy snow some weeks to others where it seemed like spring had already sprung. Calgary typically sees that kind of performance from winter, due to Chinook winds, but this was more wide-spread, due to the weak polar vortex this winter. However, overall, winter's performance there evened-out and places like Calgary and Edmonton actually ended up with a lot less snow than they usually see for the season. Overall grade would be a C+ just by the numbers, but it drops to a C- for lack of consistency.

Saskatchewan and Manitoba are where the grades (along with the residents) really started to suffer. Except for a slight break in January, when temperatures hovered around average for winter, southern Saskatchewan endured chills that were at least 5 degrees colder than normal. Unlike their neighbours, southern Manitoba didn't get any breaks this winter, and temperatures were consistently between 5 and 10 degrees colder than average over the season. Wind chill values in both provinces dipped down into the -50s at times. In Winnipeg, it was the coldest winter in the past 35 years, and the second coldest winter they've had since record keeping began, over 75 years ago. Overall grade for both, D-, with possibly an F just for the extremes (although residents of these provinces are more used to this kind of weather).

In Ontario, the north suffered through the same bone-chilling cold as the Prairies, while the south had frequent blasts of unseasonably cold weather, with wind chills down into the -30s (which is unusual for the area). For cities like Toronto, it was the coldest on record in the past 20 years. Repeated storms passing over the Great Lakes area combined these frigid temperatures with warm air and moisture from the south to bury many communities in record to near-record snowfall amounts, and several of these storms spread dangerously-icy conditions across southern parts of the province. One ice storm that hit just before Christmas left tens of thousands of people across southern Ontario without power for several days over the holidays. The winds streaming down over the lakes from the polar vortex also made snow squalls a hazard this winter across southwestern and central Ontario. Several of these dumped incredible amounts of snow across southwestern Ontario communities, resulting in many closed roads and accidents, with one in particular resulting in a 96-car pileup on Hwy 400 north of Toronto, as drivers encountered what some called "a wall of snow." Overall grade, F, just for making life particularly miserable for the largest concentration of people in the country.

Quebec suffered through many of the same woes as Ontario this winter, including the Christmas ice storm, and the southwest even getting some impact from long-reaching snow squalls off of Georgian Bay and the eastern end of Lake Ontario. Temperatures were consistently below average for the season and the early-January blast from the polar vortex produced some particularly biting cold, pushing wind chills down to extremes near -40. Snowfall amounts across the province have been about normal for the season in Montreal, but Quebec City has apparently accumulated over 70 cm of snow on the ground by this time (over 15 cm more than usual). Overall grade, on the cusp between a D- and an F.

The Maritimes had it rough this winter, as every storm that swept through the United States due to the polar vortex eventually made its way across the Atlantic provinces. Nearly every week brought a fresh batch of rain, freezing rain and/or snow, and weather warnings became such a regular occurrence that residents were probably getting a little jaded to them. New Brunswick was buried in snow for most of the season. Nova Scotia was hit by ice storms, blizzards and Halifax saw nearly twice as much snow as they do in a typical January. Charlottetown recorded over 250 centimetres of snow for the season, which is around 25 per cent more than usual. In Newfoundland, the amount of snow on the ground is being measured in metres rather than centimetres. Stephenville, in the southwest corner of the island, accumulated over 2 metres of snow on the ground by March, while in Gander it's reached nearly 1.3 metres high. For the persistent frigid cold, repeated extreme winter storms and just the depth of snow still on the ground, winter gets an F for the Maritimes.

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When it comes right down to it, although these grades are generally measured against the average winter the different areas of Canada have seen, they're still pretty arbitrary. It could also have been graded on the number of extreme events that happened. Or maybe exactly how many warnings were issued compared to normal, but even that's going to change soon. Besides, what one person sees as a bad winter is going to be different than what someone else sees as bad, especially if they directly impacted by the weather (such as those left without power during the holidays, or those that shoveled a metre or more of snow off their driveway, or were involved in a multi-car pileup).

One aspect that wasn't really considered for this brief report card, though, was exactly how this winter stacked up when it comes to climate change. Many people tried to take this winter as proof that global warming and climate change were just a big scam. However, there's mounting evidence (regardless of who wants to ignore it or scoff at it) that these kinds of winters are at least partially due to the effects of global warming. Also, although global warming may mean that we have a more gradual cool-down going into winter, we may have more of these extreme winter weather events as a result of it. So, overall, when looking at this winter from a climate perspective, no matter where you are, it gets a failing grade.

(Image courtesy: NASA Earth Observatory)

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