Most of us are hoping for snow this spring.
Here’s a look by province at what’s happened in the past.
Over the last 140 years, Winnipeg has recorded 20 centimetres of snow or more on a single day in March at 12 different times. The most recent was March 8, 1999. The largest March snowstorm I was able to find occurred in 1935, when 53.1 cm of snow fell between March 3 and 6.
The next largest snowstorm occurred at nearly the same time (March 4) in 1966, when 35.6 cm of snow fell.
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Winnipeg has recorded some of its greatest snowstorm totals in April. Five days reported snowfall greater than 20 cm, but some of those have been doozies.
The two largest April snowstorms over the past 140 years both occurred fairly recently and early in the month. The 1997 storm recorded 46 cm of snow between April 4 and 6. Nearly the same amount (45 cm) fell between April 1 and 4, 1999.
Since 1890, Brandon has recorded 16 days with snowfall greater than 20 cm in March. The most recent was in 2018 when, on March 4-5, 28.6 cm of snow fell. The largest March snowstorm I was able to find was in 1953, with 39.3 cm of snow between March 26 and 28.
My Saskatchewan data is lacking for some reason, so if someone has some good snow records, let me know.
I did some digging into Regina’s data, and while there were plenty of snowy Marchs, I was only able to find one large March snowstorm. It occurred in 1927 when 35.5 cm of snow fell from March 15-17.
In April, there were more storm events, the most recent in 2003. Between April 1 and 5, 21.5 cm fell. The largest April storm event I could find occurred in 1979 when, from April 11-13, 29.6 cm of snow fell. There was also a decent storm in 1966 that dropped 23.3 cm between April 26 and 28.
March in Calgary has had some decent snowstorms, with the biggest between March 16 and 17, 1998. That storm saw 39 cm of snow fall. But April is the month of truly big snowstorms for this region. I was surprised at just how many snowfall days occur during April.
The biggest April snowstorm I was able to find occurred in 1932, with 49.3 cm reported between April 20 and 21. Only one year later, an April storm hit on April 15 and lasted through to April 17. During this storm, nearly 46 cm of snow fell.
Another snowstorm dropped at least 40 cm in 1966 between April 25 and 27, when 45 cm fell. More recently, in 2003, between April 26 and 28, 38.5 cm of snow fell. This storm recorded the second largest one-day snowfall total for April. April 26 of that year saw 32.2 cm. If those dates look familiar, it’s because the same storm hit Saskatchewan.
The largest single-day snowfall total for April occurred during the 1932 storm when, on April 21, an absolutely amazing 45.7 cm of snow fell.
Edmonton region doesn’t have the same number of spring snowfalls as Calgary, but has still seen its fair share of large snowstorms, especially in April.
The largest March storm I was able to find occurred in 1974, when March 13-15 saw a total of 30.3 cm. The largest April snowstorm occurred in 1955 when, between April 18 and April 20, a whopping 47.5 cm fell.
Daniel Bezte is a teacher by profession with a BA in geography, specializing in climatology, from the University of Winnipeg. He operates a computerized weather station near Birds Hill Park, Man. Contact him at dmgbezte@gmail.com.
