It's been one very chilly March
Environment Canada says snowfall is still down slightly
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Friday, March 24, 2017
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A senior climatologist for Environment Canada says March has been almost seven degrees colder than normal. David Phillips added the cold temperatures could help to avoid drought this summer.
Peter McGillis walks through the blowing snow and wind Yellowknife Bay on Sunday. While the temperature was a relatively mild -18 C, 40 km/h winds brought a wind chill of -40 C. David Phillips, senior climatologist with Environment Canada, says the area is still below usual snowfall amounts but because of a brutally cold March, the snow is sticking around longer than normal. - |
He said the region has received about 85 per cent of its usual snowfall, but cold temps have helped that snow stick around.
A mild fall meant that as of mid-January, the area had received the least amount of snowfall in 40 years for that time of year.
But since then, the region has nearly caught up to normal snowfall amounts.
"March has been tough," said Phillips.
"If March had ended at the beginning of this week it would have been the coldest March in 50 years."
March 9 was -39.7 C, the coldest day this winter. As a comparison, the average temperature last March was -13.8 C.
Phillips said however it was not too cold to snow in March.
The area has received 16 centimetres of snow this month compared to the usual 11, he said.
With a warming trend forecast for this weekend, Phillips expects by the end of the month, the temperature will average out to being close to normal for March.
The entire winter has been about two degrees milder than usual. When it comes to whether the area will see a drought this summer, Phillips said it still depends on exactly how quickly the snow melts before we can determine if the ground has absorbed more moisture than usual.
He said he won't have a good sense of that until later in the spring when snowfall amounts are again
measured. A multi-year drought has had an enormous impact on the territory.
Low water levels in the Snare Hydroelectric System forced the territorial government to subsidize the NWT Power Corporation with about $50 million for diesel power in 2014 and 2015.
The drought also led to the worst forest-fire season in the territory's history in 2014 in terms of amount of area burned.
Judy McLinton, spokesperson for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, said staff won't be taking their own snowfall measurements until the end of the month.
