Coldest part of winter is behind us: Official
It may not feel like it some days, but senior climatologist Dave Phillips of Environment Canada thinks Hamilton’s coldest part of winter is behind us.
Even though February is expected to be colder than usual.
The coldest moment last winter in Hamilton was -7.5 C. Well, we’ve already experienced 12 days colder than that, says Phillips. The average temperature in January is normally -5.5 C and last January, it was a balmy -2.5 C by comparison.
“This winter, you had a long bout of cold (and below freezing temperatures) — 18 days from the 21st of December to the 7th of January. That’s prairie cold…,” he said.
“You deserve a gold medal,” he says. “I think that you have survived the coldest part of the year.”
So what else have you survived so far this winter, Hamilton?
Well, there’s the 65 water main breaks in January alone.
We’ve had more snow than normal by this time of year — 92 cm compared to 85, and last year’s 56 cm. And, we’ve experienced what Phillips calls “a smorgasbord” of weather in cycles of freeze and thaws, alternating between snow and rain, and frigid and mild temperatures.
The Hamilton-Niagara area was the epicentre of Monday’s snow storm that continued overnight into Tuesday morning, according to Phillip. St. Catharines was the snowiest spot, at 27 cm.
Hamilton’s airport recorded 17 cm. while Ancaster had between 15 and 20 cm, Phillips said.
Visibility by noon Monday was down to about two kms, from 24 at 11 a.m. Strong winds, up to 35 km/h, caused blowing snow that reduced the visibility.
City plows and salters were out at a normal pace in such storms — between 8 and 11 a.m. Monday said public works spokesperson Jasmine Graham. They started on residential routes at 5 a.m. Tuesday and were still at it by late afternoon.
Phillips is forecasting a colderthan-normal February, but not as intense as December and January.
“It’ll turn a little colder, but not the face-numbing, windshield cold … not that Siberian air that so characterized the first day of winter (Dec. 21)”, he said.
“I think we’ve seen the worst part of winter.”
February is also expected to have far less thawing and freezing cycles, something that might cheer up city maintenance workers, given the 65 water main breaks this January.
“It’s higher than we’ve seen in the last few years,” says city water distribution manager Dave Alberton, but consistent with past cold winters.
“The extreme weather causes the ground to shift more abruptly by causing the soil to expand or contract.”
The city had two water line breaks Tuesday by late afternoon.