Weather forecast
February warm, wet with recordsetting high
WATERLOO — February was warm and wet in Waterloo Region, with one day the highest February temperature we’ve seen in more than a century.
While the first half of the month was a bit colder than average, the heat came on in the second half for an overall temperature that was a little over two degrees higher than average.
On the 20th, the mercury reached a high of 15.6 C — a record in more than 100 years of weather data in the region. The previous highest February temperature was just last year when it reached 15.1.
It was the wettest February in the past five years — 84 millimetres compared to the average of 54.9.
About half the monthly total doused the region in just two really wet days — the 19th and 20th — when a total of 38.8 mm of rain teamed up with mild temperatures to melt almost all the snow on the ground.
Before that rain, 25 centimetres of snow fell during the first half of the month,. That’s close to the February average. The total snowfall reached 91 cm, lagging further behind the average of 125.6 cm for this time of year.
The UW weather station recently turned 20, and a public lecture is being hosted on Monday evening to celebrate the milestone.
Frank Seglenieks, weather station co-ordinator, will talk about the weather station’s history, hurdles and trends.
The event is free, but registration is encouraged.
Find out more at weather.uwaterloo.ca.