February much colder than average in Calgary, says Environment Canada
The first three weeks of February have been so relentlessly cold that Calgarians might be wondering if someone accidentally put January on repeat.
The average temperature in Calgary so far this month is –13.5 C, says Environment Canada meteorologist Dan Kulak.
The historical average for February is –5.4 C in Calgary.
"It's just been a cool pattern across the Prairies."
Kulak said the cold has been pretty stubbornly stuck over Calgary, apart from a couple of memorable respites — like on Feb. 12 when the temperature swung 32 degrees from –29 C in the morning to a high of 2.9 C.
And then there's all that snow. So far this month, Calgary has had 43 centimetres of snow. The city normally gets more like 14.5 cm in February.
But Kulak says relief is coming soon, if statistical norms hold true.
"As we move into the spring, the temperature goes up quite dramatically," he said.
The calendar flip from February to March brings an uptick from February's average temperature of –5.4 C to the March average of –1.6 C.
One of the sharpest changes in average temperatures comes with the next month change-over, from March to April, when the average rises to 4.6 C — a 6.2-degree improvement.
And from April to May, the average goes up to 9.7 C.
In the meantime, Calgarians could try being philosophical, like Kulak.
"Everybody's bad weather is someone else's good weather, and vice versa," he said.
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