There’s no argument. February was warm by February’s standard, but was it unusually so? Environment Canada thinks not.
“We do have warm winters from time to time,” said Meteorologist Steven Flisfeder. “It’s something we’ve been seeing over the past decade or so, occurring at least once every two years.”
Across Southwestern Ontario, daytime highs were at least three degrees higher than average in February. In Windsor, the average daytime temperature in February is 1.1 C. This month, it was 4.8 C.
It was similarly warm in London and Sarnia. The typical high in London in February is -0.5 C. It was 3.3 C. And in Sarnia, it was 4.5 C. Usually, it’s 0.2 C.
Our February nights weren’t as cold either. The average this past month in London was -5.5 C, -4.8C in Sarnia, and Windsor, -1.2 C. The normal low at this time of year in those cities is -8.6, -7.5, and -6.3.
In Windsor, there were only three days in the month when the temperature didn’t surpass the freezing mark.
“That is a bit unusual, to have such long periods of time not getting below zero,” said Flisfeder.
Flisfeder had no data about Chatham-Kent, but he said it was similar to Windsor’s outcomes.
Asked if climate change is responsible for February’s mild climes, Flisfeder could not say definitively.
“As we go further in time and we see these tendencies continue to increase their frequency, then we’ll have a clearer picture whether or not it’s due to climate change,” he explained. “One year, standing on its own — we can’t give a definitive yes or no.”
So what can we expect in March?
A mild start, according to Flisfeder, but cooling in the second and third weeks.
“On the whole, it’s not a very clear picture if we’ll stay in the warm or if that cold will dominate,” he said.
