April 2019 – Wet and chilly

Glorious sunset in NE Moncton, 22 Apr 2019 (Dearing)

Spring can be the most disappointing season of the year in New Brunswick and April 2019 was no exception with cloudy, cool and often wet conditions.

Surprisingly, Greater Moncton was close to normal in temperature but double the average amount of rain fell along with slightly more snow than usual.

Melting snow and heavy precipitation led to more disastrous flooding along the St. John River – almost as bad as last year’s historic water levels.

Only one day was fully below freezing and while nights weren’t that cold, daytime highs often struggled to reach the double digits.

APRIL 2019 ALMANAC (at Greater Moncton Int’l Airport, 1981-2010)

Average HIGH  8.1°C

Average LOW  -1.0°C

AVERAGE  3.6°C (near normal)

Extreme HIGH  18.9°C (21 Apr)

Extreme LOW  -6.0°C (08 Apr)

RAINFALL  122.5 mm (about 100 percent ABOVE normal)

SNOWFALL  32.8 cm (slightly ABOVE normal)

(Data courtesy Environment Canada)

1-2-3 Winter Punch Coming

An early sign of spring in downtown Moncton, 03 March 2018 (Dearing)

After days of cloudy skies and mostly dry conditions, it seems Old Man Winter is returning.

While no weather warnings are currently in place for Southeast New Brunswick, snowfall advisories have been issued for areas to the north and west.

Environment Canada says a low pressure system approaching from the U.S. Northeast could bring 10-15 cm of snow Thursday with a changeover to rain by evening as temperatures climb above freezing.

But another storm system will move into the region late Friday and into Saturday with rain changing over to snow.

And early next week could bring yet another storm system.

Mild for Santa’s arrival

Santa Claus in downtown Moncton (City of Moncton/Facebook)

The Greater Moncton Santa Claus Parade is the unofficial start to the Christmas season in Southeast New Brunswick.

The weather was cooperative for Santa’s arrival this year with a mild 10 C when the parade started at 5pm with light winds under clear and dry conditions.

It was a different story last year with a chilly 3 C under a mostly cloudy sky with damp conditions.

An estimated 100,000 spectators come out to see the parade every year and this year the crowd seemed even larger.

Warm Thanksgiving weekend

Aboiteau Beach, Cap-Pele, NB, 08 Oct 2017 (Dearing)

The jet stream brought warm southerly air into the Maritimes allowing temperatures in Southeast New Brunswick to climb into the 20s this Thanksgiving weekend.

Environment Canada says Greater Moncton reached a daytime high of 20.2 C on 07 October, 23.7 C on 08 October (near the record of 23.9 C from 1970), and 22.9 C on 09 October.

Given the autumn warmth, I couldn’t resist a visit to Aboiteau Beach (and neither could a handful of others) which was near 24 C under a mostly cloudy sky and it was quite windy.

Greenwood, Nova Scotia was the hot spot in Canada hitting 26 C for two days in a row.

June 2017 – Warm and unsettled

Ominous clouds near the Nova Scotia-New Brunswick border, 03 June 2017 (Dearing)

Thunderstorm activity was common throughout Southeast New Brunswick in June and all but ten days had at least a trace of rainfall.

But precipitation amounts were generally light in Greater Moncton except for two major rain events – 36.6 mm fell on 09 June along with a peak wind gust of 102 km/h and 21.2 mm fell on 24 June.

Temperatures were cool during the first week of the month with an overnight low dropping to the freezing point although frost was generally avoided thanks to cloudy skies.

Summer-like conditions arrived by mid-month and many daytime highs climbed well into the 20’s C and reached 30 C or higher three times.

JUNE 2017 ALMANAC (at Greater Moncton Int’l Airport, 1981-2010)

Average HIGH  22.4 C

Average LOW  9.9 C

AVERAGE 16.2 C (about 1.0 degree ABOVE normal)

Extreme HIGH  30.8 C (11 June)

Extreme LOW  0.0 C (06 June)

RAINFALL  77.8 mm (about 20 percent BELOW normal)

(Data courtesy Environment Canada)

May 2017 – Wet and cloudy

Trailing arbutus or Mayflower growing in Irishtown Nature Park, 20 May 2017 (Dearing)

May in Southeast New Brunswick certainly lived up to its unpredictable nature as a transitional month between winter and summer.

Overall temperatures were above normal in Greater Moncton but oddly enough some of the coolest days were in the last third of the month.

Many days were cloudy and rainfall was heavy with only seven days without at least a trace of precipitation.

By the final week, trees were in full leaf or blossom and perennials were in full bloom.

MAY 2017 ALMANAC (at Greater Moncton Int’l Airport, 1981-2010)

Average HIGH 16.1 C

Average LOW  5.1 C

AVERAGE 10.8 C (about 0.8 degrees ABOVE normal)

Extreme HIGH 30.5 C (18 May)

Extreme LOW -0.4 C (13 May)

RAINFALL 163.5 mm (about 40 percent ABOVE normal)

(Data courtesy Environment Canada)

Cherry blossoms brighten B.C. coast

Cherry blossoms in Vancouver,BC,15 April 2017 (CityofVancouver/Twitter)

Canada’s so-called Left Coast may have the mildest winters in the country but along with that comes a lot of cloudy skies and precipitation mostly falling as rain.

After a colder and snowier than usual winter, Vancouver experienced a gloomy March with the least amount of sunshine since records began in 1951 and it rained 28 out of 31 days.

So it’s no wonder, the sight of beautiful pink and white cherry blossoms is causing traffic troubles with so many drivers and pedestrians stopping to admire them.

The peak bloom is a bit later than normal this year thanks to dismal weather causing the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival to reschedule some events.

Gloomy weather will end

Canada geese feed on a soggy lawn at Jones Lake, Moncton, 15 June 2016 (Dearing)

During the first half of June, rainfall was measured on 11 of 15 days in Greater Moncton according to Environment Canada.

Clouds came along with that rain which has meant only short bursts of sun during the mostly gloomy weather.

Hope is on the horizon since forecasters say that stubborn low pressure system will be replaced by high pressure and temperatures could hit 30 C by Sunday.

But not before a chilly night with either a frost advisory or a risk of frost for most of New Brunswick.

Cold, clouds linger in Southeast NB

Magnolia tree in bloom, downtown Moncton, 03 May 2016 (Dearing)

Greater Moncton has been enveloped by cloudy skies, cold conditions and frequent showers this week thanks to our close proximity to the jet stream.

While temperatures struggled to reach 6 or 7 C in the southeast, northwestern New Brunswick climbed into the low 20s today.

Forecasters say that warm air will finally push south this weekend with daytime highs near 18 C.

July 2015 – Promising start and finish

Wild roses in NE Moncton, 14 July 2015 (Dearing)

July started off warm and dry in Greater Moncton but once it started raining at mid-month it didn’t know when to stop.

The rain ushered in a lot of clouds and much cooler weather with a couple overnight lows dipping into the single digits.

Finally the last week of the month brought back some heat but Southeast New Brunswick has failed to reach 30 C since May.

JULY 2015 ALMANAC (at Greater Moncton International Airport)

AVERAGE HIGH 24.4 C

AVERAGE LOW 12.7 C

AVERAGE 18.6 C (about 0.2 degrees BELOW NORMAL)

EXTREME HIGH 29.4 (31 July)

EXTREME LOW 8.5 C (17 July)

RAINFALL 81.0 mm (about 10 percent BELOW NORMAL)

(Data courtesy Environment Canada over 30-year average 1981-2010)