February was the coldest February Grande Prairie has had in 40 years. According to Environment Canada Meteorologist Kyle Fougère, last month was 11.8 degrees colder than what people are used to seeing during that month.
“The mean temperature for this February in Grande Prairie was minus 23.6 which would make it the coldest February that Grande Prairie’s experienced in 40 years. To compare that, on average the temperature for February is minus 11.8. It’s actually 11.8 degrees colder than normal for the month of February this year.”
Throughout the month there were also a number of snowfall warnings issued as well. On February 1st, 7.2 centimetres of snow fell at the Grande Prairie Airport, unofficially besting the previous February 1st record of 5.1 centimetres set in 1974.
These numbers follow a warmer than normal January where it was 6.3 degrees above normal temperatures. Over the last few years, Environment Canada has seen warmer starts to the winter season and colder ends. Looking ahead, Fougère says people can expect to see warmer weather next week.
“This week is going to stay below normal. We still have that cold air over most of the province. It’s looking like next week we’re going go back towards more normal temperatures for this time of year. For reference, it’s normal at this time of year to have a daytime high of minus 2 and an overnight low of minus 13. This Sunday we’re forecasting a daytime high of minus 1 so it looks like we’ll finally get out of some of these below normal temperatures.”
Fougère believes spring should stay around what they are used to seeing and says he doesn’t believe Grande Prairie will see any abnormally warm or cold weather events.
