February's snowfall-to-date is well above long-term monthly average: Environment Canada

It's understandable if Thunder Bay residents are getting sick of the snow that's been falling this month.

February has been an unusually-snowy month for the city, with totals far exceeding the long-term monthly average.

Geoff Coulson, a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada, said about 57 centimetres of snow has fallen on the city so far in February (Tuesday's storm added about 10 centimetres to the total).

"The long-term average snowfall for February, the whole month, is 27 centimetres," he said.

However, a lack of long-term records at Environment Canada's Hazelwood observation site means it's unclear if a February snowfall record has been set, Coulson said.

But a few more centimetres are expected before March, he said.

"We've got a couple more systems to go through," Coulson said. "Another system coming through on Thursday. Not expecting a huge amount of snow from this one. It's moving pretty quickly, maybe just a couple more centimetres."

"And then another system, more intense, moving to the north of the area on Friday," he said. "It looks like Thunder Bay may just stay on the southern edge of the precipitation from this system. So again, not expecting huge amounts of snow necessarily, but adding to this February total."

The February snowstorms have led to school bus cancellations in and around Thunder Bay.

"Whenever we're expecting inclement weather in the forecast, we monitor it throughout the evening and night to see how it's actually unfolding, " said Craig Murphy, consortium manager with Student Transportation Services of Thunder Bay. "If we do receive the inclement weather overnight, then we go out there starting at 4:30 in the morning, start driving the city streets and assessing the roads for drivability, as well as what's coming down from the sky and how the city is making out with their plowing."

Murphy said experienced school bus drivers in rural areas also tell the consortium about what they're seeing in terms of snowfall and road conditions.

"We take all that information and consult with both the the bus companies ... as well as looking at the updated forecasts, and different forecasting modeling tools we have at our disposal, to see if if we feel it's appropriate or safe for school buses to be driving that day," he said.

Murphy said school boards are informed around 5:45 or 6 a.m., and the boards confirm whether or not any schools are being closed that day.

There was some confusion during Tuesday's winter storm in Thunder Bay, however, when initially the buses were announced as running, but later in the morning that decision was reversed.