Weather Appreciation

[Glacier]

March saw 50% less snow than normal in the Okanagan, but many parts of Canada record amounts. The praires were particularly hard hit. Edmonton shattered their old record by almost 20 cm, while Midale, Saskatchewan, broke their old record originally set way back in the middle of the "Dirty Thirties." Canada's driest place, Eureka, Nunavut, also broke a record for March with a whopping 12 cm of snow.

[Woodenhead]

It's snowing here right now.



I suppose this is the wrong thread to post in. "Weather Appreciation"

[Glacier]

I don't know about that. I was out cross-country skiing today, and appreciating the snowy weather.

[Queen K]

I'd appreciate a warm up!

[Lady tehMa]

It's warm enough that we have rain, not snow. I don't think I'll complain too much - think of your barrels QK!

[Woodenhead]

I woke up to the sound of a snow plow going by this morning.

[phoenix 2000]

Okanagians are blessed..record low temp in Regina this morning, -28 with wind chill. It'll be ages before all the snow is gone, and much longer yet before the earth dries up enough to get into gardens or fields. Enjoy Kelowna's climate!

[Glacier]

Venn diagram for you all...

[Glacier]

The Okanagan has now had 10 days in a row with rain (although Peachland is the only place that has rained each of those days). Interesting, Peachland has been the driest spot of the places listed below. Penticton has been the wettest, even though it has had the most days without any rain (3 of the past 10).

Rain totals from April 4th to April 13th

Penticton = 33.0 mm
Lumby = 28.6 mm
West Kelowna = 28.0 mm
Vernon = 24.9 mm
Kelowna = 22.4 mm
Peachland = 19.7 mm

[Queen K]

Again, where is the warm up? This is crazy!!!

[sobrohusfat]

[Glacier]

Sunshine records began in BC in 1957.

About 100 different places in the province measured sunshine at one point or another, but today there are only 3 left: Vancouver, Victoria, and Comox.

Only 12 places ever recorded 1000 or more hours of sunshine during the summer (June, July, and August). Victoria and Williams Lake are the only places to record 1000 hours multiple times:

VICTORIA GONZALES HTS = 1063.6 hours in 1957 (1000+ hours were also recorded in 1960, 1966, 1976, and 1986)
VICTORIA INT'L A = 1060.6 hours in 1984
VERNON SOUTHWEST = 1055.7 hours in 1966
SUMMERLAND CDA = 1040.5 hours in 1966
WILLIAMS LAKE A = 1040.2 hours in 1966 (also, 1009.1 hours were recorded in 1960)
KAMLOOPS A = 1039.7 hours in 1966
SATURNA ISLAND CS = 1031.1 hours in 1984
TRAIL TADANAC 1009.7 1966 hours in 1966
PRINCE GEORGE A = 1007.1 hours in 1960
FORT ST JOHN A = 1006.5 hours in 1966
VERNON = 1004.4 hours in 1978
ARRAS = 1001.1 hours in 1980

Two places in BC have recorded less than 1000 hours for the entire year, Prince Rupert (not the airport) and Stewart. In 1975 Stewart only recorded 824 hours the entire year. Stewart, the least sunny place in Canada, averages less than 1000 hours of sunshine per year.

[Glacier]

Below is a list of the most extreme amounts of sunshine ever recorded in BC.

Notes:

• I'm calling the Victoria airport "North Saanich" because that's where it is located.
• The table shows extremes, not averages. There is some correlation, but not totally. For example, the sunniest winter ever occurred in Abbotsford, but Puntzi Mountain is definitely the sunniest place in the province on average during the winter.
• The only reason Moresby Island is not listed as the least sunny place is because it does not have a complete year's worth of data. Therefore, Stewart is the least sunny place in BC.
• The higher elevations of the Okanagan are very sunny in the Fall. McCulloch holds the record for the most sunshine ever recorded in BC in the Fall.
• Vernon and Summerland get the most sunshine in the Okanagan due in part because of the lack of tall hills surrounding both places.
• The sunniest year ever recorded in BC is still not as sunny as an average year in Medicine Hat, Alberta (Canada's sunniest spot).
• Fort Nelson and Fort St John clearly dominate the Spring in terms of sunshine. Spring is defined as Mar through May.
• It's interesting how Hope gets such little sun in the winter while Abbotsford and Agassiz get so much.

Click to expand.

[dreamon]

Glacier, as a person who appreciates useless facts and information, please keep it coming!!

[Glacier]

Glacier, as a person who appreciates useless facts and information, please keep it coming!!

Cool, at least someone likes them... Here is one for you. The average number of hours of bright sunshine during the winter (Dec, Jan, Feb).

Notes:

The Okanagan doesn't get much in the winter, but as you can see many other areas get even less!
Hope gets the least amount of sunshine in the province.
Only 85 locations existed, so some of the inlets such as the on on the Queen Charlottes get even less than hope, but they don't have enough data to be used on this map. Only places with 4 or more years were used.