For those of you with short and biased memories here are the above average temperatures for January.
Reflections on a warm and dry January
Daniel Bezte By Daniel Bezte
Co-operator contributor
Published: February 9, 2021
I don’t know about you, but the first month of 2021 seemed to go by in a blink; maybe it had to do with all the warm weather. Unless you literally stayed inside for all of January there was no way you couldn’t conclude it was a warm month. Even the cold weather that moved in near the end of the month couldn’t put much of a dent into the near-record heat.
Every location I checked across the agricultural Prairies saw well-above-average temperatures in January. The warmest absolute temperatures occurred in Alberta, but the warmest temperatures compared to average were found across Manitoba and in the Peace region of Alberta. Typically, when we see really warm winter temperatures it tends to be dry, and this January was no exception as all three Prairie provinces reported well-below-average amounts.
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Let’s begin our look in Alberta, where mean daily temperatures in January ranged from -4.3 C in Calgary to -8.4 C in the Peace River region. While Calgary had the absolute warmest reading, it was only 2.8 C above average — which is still well-above average, but compared with other locations it was actually the cold spot. Edmonton came in about 5 C above average, but Peace River was the warmest location right across the Prairies, with a mean monthly temperature 6.5 C above the long-term average. Precipitation across most of Alberta was light to almost non-existent, ranging from around one millimetre in the Calgary region to around six mm in the Peace River region.
Moving eastward into Saskatchewan, the well-above-average temperatures continued. The mean monthly temperature in Saskatoon came in right around -11 C, a good 4.5 C above the long-term average, while Regina saw a mean monthly temperature of -9.5 C, about 5 C above average. Precipitation was light, with both centres reporting between seven and eight mm, or about 50 per cent of average.
Finally, in Manitoba, absolute temperatures may have been a little cooler but compared to average it was a very warm month. The “cold†spot was the Brandon region, which recorded a mean monthly temperature of -11 C, a good 5.5 C above average. Both Dauphin and Winnipeg saw mean monthly temperatures right around -10 C, about 5.3 C above the long-term average for Dauphin and about 6 C above average for Winnipeg. Just like in Alberta and Saskatchewan, precipitation was below average, ranging from about five mm in the Winnipeg region to about 10 mm in the Dauphin region.
Overall, it was a very warm and dry start to 2021 and now the big question is whether the current cool-down will continue into February — or will the warm weather continue leading to what could be one of the warmest winters on record?
Reflections on a warm and dry January
Daniel Bezte By Daniel Bezte
Co-operator contributor
Published: February 9, 2021
I don’t know about you, but the first month of 2021 seemed to go by in a blink; maybe it had to do with all the warm weather. Unless you literally stayed inside for all of January there was no way you couldn’t conclude it was a warm month. Even the cold weather that moved in near the end of the month couldn’t put much of a dent into the near-record heat.
Every location I checked across the agricultural Prairies saw well-above-average temperatures in January. The warmest absolute temperatures occurred in Alberta, but the warmest temperatures compared to average were found across Manitoba and in the Peace region of Alberta. Typically, when we see really warm winter temperatures it tends to be dry, and this January was no exception as all three Prairie provinces reported well-below-average amounts.
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Let’s begin our look in Alberta, where mean daily temperatures in January ranged from -4.3 C in Calgary to -8.4 C in the Peace River region. While Calgary had the absolute warmest reading, it was only 2.8 C above average — which is still well-above average, but compared with other locations it was actually the cold spot. Edmonton came in about 5 C above average, but Peace River was the warmest location right across the Prairies, with a mean monthly temperature 6.5 C above the long-term average. Precipitation across most of Alberta was light to almost non-existent, ranging from around one millimetre in the Calgary region to around six mm in the Peace River region.
Moving eastward into Saskatchewan, the well-above-average temperatures continued. The mean monthly temperature in Saskatoon came in right around -11 C, a good 4.5 C above the long-term average, while Regina saw a mean monthly temperature of -9.5 C, about 5 C above average. Precipitation was light, with both centres reporting between seven and eight mm, or about 50 per cent of average.
Finally, in Manitoba, absolute temperatures may have been a little cooler but compared to average it was a very warm month. The “cold†spot was the Brandon region, which recorded a mean monthly temperature of -11 C, a good 5.5 C above average. Both Dauphin and Winnipeg saw mean monthly temperatures right around -10 C, about 5.3 C above the long-term average for Dauphin and about 6 C above average for Winnipeg. Just like in Alberta and Saskatchewan, precipitation was below average, ranging from about five mm in the Winnipeg region to about 10 mm in the Dauphin region.
Overall, it was a very warm and dry start to 2021 and now the big question is whether the current cool-down will continue into February — or will the warm weather continue leading to what could be one of the warmest winters on record?
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