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Victoria saw more snowfall this month compared to other major cities

Victoria normally sees about 6 cm of snow in February
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Victoria has seen 68 cm of snow since Feb. 1. Normally, the city sees about 6 cm of snow in the month of February. (Keri Coles/News Staff)

From showing off its cherry blossoms to being blanketed in white, Victoria has seen more snow so far in February than other major Canadian cities.

Since Feb. 1, 68 cm of snow has fallen on Victoria. Typically, the city sees about 6 cm of snow in the month of February.

Following closely behind, Sudbury, Ont. has seen about 66 cm of snow so far, Ottawa has seen 55 cm and Montreal has had about 51 cm of snow this month.

Just across the Strait of Georgia, Vancouver saw about 31 cm of snow since Feb. 1, falling closely behing Happy Valley-Goose Bay, N.L. which saw 35 cm.

READ MORE: PHOTOS: Twice as much snow fell on Victoria 103 years ago today

On the East Coast, about 26 cm of snow fell on Halifax, 18 cm in Toronto and 17 cm in St. John’s, N.L.

Calgary had about 16 cm of snowfall so far this month and Yellowknife has seen significantly less with 3 cm of snowfall.

Further up the Island, Nanaimo got almost 76 cm of snow so far this month. The city typically sees about 11 cm in February.

Carmen Hartt, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, said that there are spots in Canada that have received more snow than Victoria, but when it comes to larger cities, Victoria has seen a lot.

“There’s definitely places where there’s been more snow but I don’t think as far as major cities there have been,” Hartt said. “And then, of course, there’s all the no-man’s land where we just don’t know.”

Hartt said Environment Canada does not have reliable snowfall data for cities in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

“There’s probably even places around Victoria that had a bit more … it’s just the variability of snow,” Hartt said.

The significant amount of snowfall is linked to temperature. Hartt said Victoria does have rain and storms in the month of February but lower temperatures have turned the rain into snow.

“The temperature is about six to seven degrees lower than normal this month,” Hartt said.

READ MORE: Drainage a concern due to melting snow in Sidney

The normal high for February is 9 C and this year it’s been about 3 C which can form snow.

Hartt said now that the snow is melting on the ground, localized flooding and pooling of water could be a concern.

“If we had this in rain we’d have a day of rain and then it would drain off,” Hartt said. “But it accumulated over three different snow events … we could see a lot of pooling.”

For drivers, Hartt noted that there is the danger of hydroplaning but also a danger of ice forming under pooled water.

“It’s a mix of rain and snow that’s on the roads so it could be slippery underneath the water too,” Hartt said.

But even with the snow melting, Victoria isn’t out of the clear yet.

Hartt said that while there aren’t any major systems on the horizon, the low, single-digit temperatures are supposed to last until the end of the month so there is a possibility of more snow.

“It’s like we didn’t get a winter and now we got our winter,” Hartt said.

shalu.mehta@goldstreamgazette.com


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