I promised to look at snow cover across the Prairies for the Feb. 29 issue of the Co-operator, but life and a cold bug got in the way.
It can be tough to concentrate, especially when digging into numbers, when your head is aching and you can’t breathe through your nose. That article will have to wait until early March. Instead, let’s look at past times when the Prairies were buried in snow.
March and April can be the snowiest months with some of the biggest snowstorms. At this time of year, warm moist air begins its yearly push northward, while cold arctic air is often reluctant to let go.
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When the two combine, we can get some truly huge snowstorms. Let’s look back at these spring snowstorms, relying on data from main reporting centres in each of the three Prairie provinces.
Manitoba
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.
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.
April in Brandon has also seen its fair share of large snowfalls. There have been nine days with more than 20 cm of snow recorded, the most recent on April 27, 1984, when 29.7 cm fell. The largest spring snowstorm I was able to find occurred on April 26, 1961, when a whopping 47 cm of snow fell in just one day. The next largest occurred April 26-27, 1984, when the Brandon region saw nearly 36 cm.
Saskatchewan
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.
Alberta
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 20, a whopping 47.5 cm fell.
Yet another big April storm hit in 1948, with 43 cm recorded between April 1 and 3. The third-biggest storm occurred a bit more recently, from April 6-7, 1991, when nearly 41 cm of snow fell, over 36 cm of which occurred on the first day.
This is the second largest one-day snowfall record for Edmonton in April. The largest one-day total occurred on April 19, 1955, when 38cm fell. The most recent big snow event was in 2002, when 28 cm fell April 14-15.
Snowy spring
As the stats show, some of the largest snowstorms to hit our part of the world have occurred in March or April. Maybe this will give hope to regions that are suffering from a dry winter and looking for moisture in any form.
