Despite chilly weather, snowbanks are melting in NE Moncton, 16 April 2018 (Dearing)
Mid-April is here already but temperatures certainly haven’t been improving very much lately in New Brunswick.
Overnight lows continue to be abnormally cold with records set on Sunday, 15 April.
Greater Moncton fell to -9.1 C which breaks a record low of -8.6 C from 1981.
New records were also set in Bouctouche at -8.6 C and Miscou Island at -9.3 C.
Lingering snowbanks in NE Moncton, 09 April 2018 (Dearing)
Since the start of astronomical spring, the highest temperature in Greater Moncton has been 9.1 C and overnight lows have dropped to a near record low of -8.8 C.
So many are asking when is it ever going to warm up in New Brunswick?
The Maritimes has recently found itself on the north side of the prevailing jet stream which has allowed cold, Arctic air to sink south.
Environment Canada says the temperature should finally climb to at least 10 C by Friday.
Keep in mind, the first 20 C reading of the season was 12 April in 2017 while it was 21 April in 2016.
Winter just won’t let go in Western Canada with Environment Canada noting the duration and intensity of the current cold snap hasn’t been felt since April 1970.
The polar vortex is to blame as the pool of Arctic air sinks south into the Prairies.
Daytime highs in southern Alberta are only climbing to -7 C with overnight lows in the -20’s C in Saskatchewan and -30’s C in Manitoba.
Forecasters say the bitter cold will hang around until the weekend.
Freezing fog in Summerside, PEI, 27 March 2018 (Twitter)
Residents of Southeast New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island woke up to freezing fog this morning.
This occurs when water droplets develop during fog and freeze instantly when temperatures are below freezing.
The last three early mornings in Greater Moncton have been below -10°C and have dropped to a near record low of -15.4°C.
With nearly 40 cm of snow on the ground, this is the heaviest cover of white this winter season – keeping in mind this is now early spring.
Snow covered highway near Okehampton, Devon, UK, 19 March 2018 (Keene/PA)
More than 10 cm snow fell in southwest England where a 100 km stretch of the A30 Highway was shut down forcing travellers to seek emergency shelter at a school in Okehampton.
Devon and Cornwall Police warned drivers to stay off the highways until snowplows cleared them and hundreds of schools were closed today.
Forecasters are watching for another wintry cold snap which could affect the UK during Easter weekend.
A view of downtown Moncton from city hall, 23 Jan 2018 (City of Moncton)
Meteorological winter 2017/18 is now in the books since the three month period of December, January and February is over but we all know winter is not over yet in Southeast New Brunswick.
What a ride it has been in Greater Moncton with temperatures fluctuating wildly from very mild to extremely cold in just hours and in one case in mere minutes.
Snowfall was lighter compared to normal especially in February but the bigger concern were frequent periods of mixed, icy precipitation such as freezing rain and ice pellets.
WINTER ALMANAC 2017/18 at the Greater Moncton International Airport
Average HIGH -1.2 C (about 0.9 degrees ABOVE normal)
Average LOW -11.0 C (about 1 degree ABOVE normal)
AVERAGE -6.1 C (about 1 degree ABOVE normal)
Extreme HIGH 16.7 C (13 January – highest temperature ever recorded in January)
Extreme LOW -22.3 C (07 February)
RAINFALL 134.4 mm (about 20 percent ABOVE normal)
SNOWFALL 177.8 cm (about 15 percent BELOW normal)
(Data courtesy Environment Canada)
Vehicle stranded in snow on Highway A1, Peterborough, UK, 27 Feb 2018 (Giddens/PA)
The Siberian weather system dubbed “Beast from the East” bringing snow and strong winds is wreaking havoc in the United Kingdom and Ireland disrupting the transportation network.
Up to 50 cm of snow could fall in northern England and Scotland and temperatures could drop to as low as -15 C.
Schools have been closed and authorities have been busy responding to numerous highway crashes as drivers are being urged to stay off the roads.
The UK Met Office anticipates this will be the coldest week of the winter season.
Man on skis at St. Peter’s Square, Vatican City, 26 Feb 2018 (Casilli/Reuters)
Thanks to a cold Siberian air mass dubbed “Beast from the East”, about 10 cm of snow fell in Rome prompting Italian authorities to call in the army and help clear streets.
In St. Peter’s Square, priests from the Vatican threw snowballs at each other and students skied on a hill near the Colosseum.
The heaviest snowfall in Rome in six years forced schools to close, cancelled flights and drivers were urged to stay home.
While Rome barely climbed above freezing, temperatures fell as low as -35 C in the Italian Alps early today.
Plowing snow near St. Basil’s Cathedral, Red Square, Moscow, Russia, 05 Feb 2018 (Maximov/AFP)
Moscow has been buried with more than 60 cm of snow which has shattered previous records, caused massive power outages and led to a rare ‘snow day’ for school students on Monday.
Drivers were urged to stay home as the so-called “snowfall of the century” downed over 2,000 trees and even the Russian army was deployed to help dig out.
The Russian weather agency was forecasting a low of -17 C by early Tuesday and another 8 cm of snow could fall in the next few days.
The Petitcodiac River in Moncton looking toward Dieppe, 28 January 2018 (Dearing)
The first month of 2018 proved to be quite a roller coaster ride in Southeast New Brunswick.
Bitter cold to begin January was briefly erased by a fast-moving ‘bomb cyclone’ until another Arctic blast sunk the low to -22.3 C with a bitter wind chill of -36.
A record thaw saw the thermometer climb to 16.7 C in Greater Moncton – the highest ever in January – and a new all-time provincial high of 17.3 C in Sussex.
Precipitation was above average overall with near normal snowfall – 25 cm was the heaviest snow event on 30-31 – and about twice as much rainfall.
JANUARY 2018 ALMANAC (at Greater Moncton Int’l Airport, 1981-2010)
Average HIGH -2.0 C
Average LOW -12.6 C
AVERAGE -7.4 C (1.5 degrees ABOVE normal)
Extreme HIGH 16.7 C (13 Jan, new all-time monthly high)
Extreme LOW -22.3 C (07 Jan)
RAINFALL 53.3 mm (almost 50 percent ABOVE normal)
SNOWFALL 77.2 cm (NEAR normal)
(Data courtesy Environment Canada)
