Monday, February 01, 2010

January 2010 milder than normal

January 2010 ended up 4C warmer than normal in Winnipeg with a monthly mean temperature of -13.7C, compared to the 30 year average of -17.8C. The above normal temperatures were mainly due to a 2 week warm spell from the 10th to the 25th when temperatures were some 10-15C above normal. The mild spell included a record high of +4C on the 16th, the warmest reading of the month. There were only 2 days with temperatures of -30C or lower, occurring on the first two days of the month with a minimum of -34C on the 1st. Other than that, temperatures were quite tolerable for January.

Snowfall for the month was close to average with about 23 cm for the month. Much of it however fell during a storm system that affected southern Manitoba from the 22nd to the 25th with two waves of snow. The first wave brought 10-15 cm of heavy wet snow on the 22nd-23rd, which was followed by another 5-10 cm on the 24th-25th that was accompanied by strong winds and blizzard conditions. This led to severe travel disruptions throughout southern MB on the 25th with road and school closures due to the poor visibility. Other than that, precipitation was meager during January with little in the way of weather systems.

All in all.. a pleasant winter month with one major storm system.

17 comments:

  1. Grand Forks has released an updated hydrological outlook with latest stats on current snow conditions and possible flooding impacts for the Red River valley. Click on my name for details or go to NWS Grand Forks website for link..

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nice post and this mail helped me alot in my college assignement. Thanks you for your information.

    ReplyDelete
  3. According to my findings, it was the 18th warmest January since records began in 1873. Is this true?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yes, that's correct.. our 18th warmest January since 1873, and our 3rd mildest over the past decade.

    El Nino was in full force further west where Vancouver recorded their warmest January on record (since 1937) with a monthly mean of +7.2C. Only 2 nights went below freezing. Bad timing for a record warm January out there!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Rob!

    How is the weather channel on SHAW 48
    be able to get updates every 10 minutes of so when the observations are only taken once an hour at the airport????

    ReplyDelete
  6. EC in Winnipeg gets a data feed of real time data from the airport that's updated every few seconds. SHAW has access to that info and they update the current conditions on Channel 48 every 20 minutes or so.

    By the way, you can access real time wind and visibility data from the Winnipeg airport from NavCanada's website, under "Live RVR" in their weather section. Data is updated every minute. Click on my name for example. It doesn't display temperature or humidity data, but at least you can get real time wind info.. which will come in handy on windy days, or when we get one of those gusty thunderstorms.

    ReplyDelete
  7. -19 C for an overnight low???

    -24 C already as of 9:00 pm!

    I assume that cloud and light snow will boost temperatures back up?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Yeah.. those temperatures really dropped this evening over Winnipeg with the clear skies and light winds. But the cloud and light snow is on our doorstep, so look for temperatures to rise overnight with another dusting of snow on the way similar to last night.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hey Rob

    EC and TWN are both forecasting snow for the weekend. Accuweather has nothing. How much snow are we expecting or is it too soon for a reasonable forecast?

    ReplyDelete
  10. It sure is windy this morning!!!
    Winds of almost 40 km/h were not expected this morning!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Daryl.. Models are indicating an upper trof digging over southern MB over the weekend generating an intensifying low over ND with an inverted trof over southern MB. Upper support looks favourable for some strong lift generating an area of moderate to locally heavy snow of perhaps 5-10 cm over southern MB. The Canadian GLB model looks most aggressive with this system, with the GFS much weaker, and the ECMWF closer to the Canadian solution. Ensemble guidance at this point suggests 2-5 cm for Winnipeg.

    Bottom line.. potential is there for 2-10 cm of snow this weekend, but still too early to give more definite details. We'll be watching it though!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Well clouds and their radiative forcing have failed us so far. Models keep trying to warm us up.. this is all dependent on that low level moisture and cloud currently in N Dakota oozing northwards before the next surge of cold advection.

    Yeah next weekend looks interesting with large system passing to over central plains exiting to the east making way for arctic vortex/ sharp trough to dig and retrograde over eastern prairies. The extent to which it can phase with another shot of southern stream energy will determine how far north moisture will get scooped up... lots of uncertainty as mentioned.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Large area of low cloud over ND that Daniel alluded to slowly spreading northward into RRV and SE MB this morning, with stratus deck just on city's doorstep. That puts our "mix of sun and cloud" forecast in jeopardy as the extensive low level moisture spreads north. Patchy fog and flurries/freezing drizzle possible as well in the low cloud.

    Models coming more in line with system on the weekend. GLB has backed off on amounts while GFS/NAM are showing a little more than yesterday's runs. Looks like snow will be spreading into southern MB from the northwest on Saturday, reaching Winnipeg in the afternoon or evening, continuing Saturday night and moving into ND on Sunday. Amounts generally around 5 cm or so for most places. Could be some gusty winds Sunday night into Monday that may blow the snow around a bit as well as the next shot of colder air pushes in. High of -9C for Monday looks optimistic based on cold core coming in.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Temp up to -13 C now at YWG after clouds finally moved in there.. meanwhile it was already -9 C at Rob's location.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Yeah.. I was noticing the large temperature difference between my station in Charleswood and the airport. Up to -7C here as of 2 pm, while it's -13C at the airport with a north wind. Dan's site between me and the airport is -11C. Most places in the city have risen above the -10C mark according to the WxUnderground mesomap, while the northwest part of the city is stuck with a northerly wind of colder air. Overcast here with some light flurries falling.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Wouldn't you know it.. we clear out again just in time for nightfall. I am getting really tired of these cold nites. Warm moist advetion at 850 hPa continues atop light NE at surface from high pressure during overnite period. NAM suggests clouds inching north at around 10 to 15 km/h... reaching us by dawn. Bleh... I am still hoping we can tap that balmy airmass over the central and northern plains for atleast one or two days before next arctic shot. Maybe asking too much.

    ReplyDelete
  17. After some brief clearing this evening, overcast skies have drifted back into the city as of 11pm. Cloud cover is having dramatic effect on temperatures with readings of minus 20C in the clear areas to minus 9C under the overcast skies. At least this cloud will send our temperatures up overnight.

    ReplyDelete