Once again we can say: ''what a difference a year makes in Manitoba''!
December 2014 was almost the complete opposite of December 2013. December 2014 averaged 3.5°C warmer than normal, tying with 1965 as the 23rd warmest December since 1872. This is in sharp comparison to the previous December which averaged 7.4°C colder than normal. In fact, December 2014 averaged 10.9°C warmer than in 2013. It was also much drier this December with just 7.2 cm of snow. This is in sharp comparison to December 2013 which saw 40.0 cm of snow, the 20th snowiest December. December 2014 was also the 8th driest on record with approximately 4.8 mm of precipitation in Winnipeg.
I wont go into all the details about December again in this post, because I already have done so in the top 10 weather stories of 2014 series. If you haven't seen the stats already or if you'd like to see them again, you can see them here.
Now, here's the statistics and rankings for the year 2014:
2014 averaged 1.2°C, making it the coldest year since 1996...
Officially, precipitation averaged right around normal in Winnipeg, albeit a bit drier. However, it was much wetter in southwestern parts of the city where some impressive rain events in August dumped locally torrential rains. Well over 400 mm fell there in 2014. Here in South St Vital for example, I recorded 450.0 mm of rain and 550.6 mm of precipitation in 2014.
In total, there were 23 thunderstorm days at the airport, slightly below the normal of 26-27 days. More occurred in southern sections of the city with 27 thunderstorm days here in South St Vital.
8 days exceeded 30°C in 2014, below the normal of 14 days. The hottest day of the year was May 24 with a high of 33.3°C. The most humid day of the year was July 5 with a humidex of 40.5.
9 daily temperature records were broken during the year: 2 record highs, 4 record high minimums and 3 record low maximums. 2 daily rainfall records were also broken; 1 in June and 1 in December. Other records included: all-time lowest wind chill in March (-49.6 on March 1), greatest single day warmup on Jan 15 (30.7°C warmup) and latest occurrence of humidex over 35 (humidex 35.8 on Sep 26).
#1 weather event of 2014 post will be Saturday morning. I realised there were 3 stats posts between here and AWM so will give a day off to digest the info tomorrow!
ReplyDeleteNot changing my snowfall forecast for Winnipeg yet for tomorrow night - sticking with a 7-13 cm range and 10-20 cm closer to the US border.
What about all the dewpoiont records we broke?
ReplyDelete28 dewpoint records were broken in 2014: 4 record highs, 9 record low highs, 9 record high minimums and 6 record low minimums.
DeleteJJ, what was December's absolute minimum temperature at the airport? I guess it occurred on the 29th but I can't find it on EC's site!
ReplyDelete-30.9°C was the low on December 29. No idea why it doesn't show up on EC's website when the data is not missing.
DeleteThanks JJ!!! Keep on with the great work on your site!
DeleteExtremely fluffy snow overnight over Winnipeg, allowing it to accumulate significantly with little moisture. About 4.2 cm accumulation here in South St Vital. However, judging by radar there might have been even more further north in the city.
ReplyDeleteI'm calling tonight 6-12 cm for Winnipeg, but don't be surprised if we get a bit more if snow is quite heavy. 10-20 cm to our south and southwest closer to the US border. Blizzard not anticipated for the Winnipeg area, but closer to the US border around Emerson where winds will be stronger, blizzard criteria may be flirted with. Blowing snow will still be a concern nonetheless, so this system is not to be taken lightly if you have travels.
Any update on tonights snow, or is the 6-12 cm forecast going to stay in place? Noticed that most sources now showing 10-15 cm, but I'd like to know the real truth as you are the best source out there.
ReplyDeleteThanks, keep up the great work on your site,
Jeff
Just under 3 cm here in South St Vital as of 9:40 pm (snow since this afternoon). At least 10 cm total a good bet for Winnipeg tonight so 10-15 cm looks like a good range right now... 15-25 cm likely closer to the US border. Again, blowing snow a concern tomorrow morning.
DeleteInteresting that this past December tied 1965 in terms of temperature. In November, a long range forecaster was citing similarities of this upcoming winter to that of 1965-66.. with a mild December followed by a very cold Jan-Feb period. That winter saw some brutal cold in Winnipeg with a monthly mean of -26.7C in January (2nd coldest on record) then 4 straight days of -40 to -45C lows in February (not wind chill!).. capped off by the infamous blizzard of March 4th 1966 that paralyzed Winnipeg and the RRV with 35 cm of snow and 120 km/h gusts. Not saying we're heading for a repeat this year, but an interesting comparison to make so far.
ReplyDelete