2nd coldest December in Waterloo region in past 20 years, UW weather station reports
CBC
If you thought December seemed colder and snowier than usual, you're right.
A new report from the E.D. Soulis Memorial Weather Station at the University of Waterloo says December was about three degrees colder than the average.
That makes it the second coldest December in the last 20 years, with the coldest being 2017.
"There was also an interesting spike in the temperature early in the morning of [Dec.] 29 where it went from 0.8 C to 8.9 C in an hour, then down to 4.8 C an hour later and well below zero a few hours after that," the report notes.
When it came to precipitation, there was a lot of that, too. Overall for the month, there was 113.2 millimetres, which was above the average of 72.1 millimetres.
For snow, there was 54.5 centimetres, which the report notes was well above the average of 30.7 centimetres — making last month the snowiest December since 2008. Then on Dec. 28, there was a mix of rain, ice pellets and snow for another 50 millimetres.
"With two months of very high snowfall, the total so far this snowfall season of 113.5 centimetres is well over twice the average of 41.8 centimetres," the report says.
Snow has continued into the new year with Environment and Climate Change Canada's forecast for the area calling for snow through until Tuesday.
Then, a winter warm-up is expected with temperatures rising above zero for a few days.
With the temperatures in flux, the Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) is reminding people to stay off ponds, rivers or streams because the conditions could be unsafe.
The authority said colder temperatures have allowed ice to form, there are too many other factors such as daily changes in temperature, wind, precipitation and underwater currents that "greatly affect ice conditions."
"The ice can break easily and should not be used for any winter activity. Higher flows will continue to weaken ice sheets where they have formed," the authority said in a release Friday.
"Snow on top of the ice can hide weak spots and slow the ice from freezing properly."
Ice fishing is not yet open at any GRCA parks.
The raven is the Yukon territory's official bird — and it holds cultural significance for many Yukon First Nation communities.
The federal government has proposed fining people and organizations up to $1 million for failing to comply with the requirements of its planned foreign influence transparency registry.
The race to become the next leader of the P.E.I. Progressive Conservative party is down to two men.
Julieth Torres remembers the thrill of pitching in at her grandmother's catering business, seeing people's faces light up as they took bites of the lovingly prepared food.
Like a crown on the hill, Pincher Creek’s Lebel Mansion brings a sense of history and warmth to the skyline above downtown.
The United States' capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, along with his wife, is an event worth celebrating for one Venezuelan refugee living in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Interveners in Halifax Water’s rate case are telling the regulatory board that the utility’s new proposal, which would cut its initial request by nearly half, is still inordinately high.
From the wintry symbol of a red northern cardinal to the rare New Brunswick sighting of a painted bunting, birds were the top subjects of this week's Your Lens submissions.
Fields of wheat are a staple in the landscape of Manitoba’s prairies, but this year many farmers plan to grow alternative crops.
Abel Charles throws on a pair of headphones and pulls his radio studio microphone closer to his face.
A new study by biologists at the University of Victoria has revealed why the simple back-and-forth motion of drift logs on B.C. beaches has destroyed critical ecosystems that keep the ocean healthy.
According to Niagara native, Lindsay Davies, the complaint that Ontario is a boring province when it comes to outdoor adventures is just plain wrong.
As of Jan. 1, most job postings in Ontario need to include salary figures, carbon monoxide alarms need to be on every level of a home and municipalities are now out of the recycling business.