Year In Review: Environment Canada – DiscoverMooseJaw.com
Discover Moose Jaw takes a look back at 2022 and today’s article is from Terri Lang, Canada’s Environment and Climate Change Meteorologist.
Q: What was the overall weather like in Moose Jaw and Saskatchewan in 2022?
A: “It’s been quite varied, as you’d expect because it’s a big province and we have some of the highest temperature swings in the world when it comes from summer to winter. In terms of Moose Jaw as a whole, it turns out it’s been a slightly colder year. We calculated the stats up to mid-December and it was slightly colder overall in terms of temperature. It definitely came on the dry side. So far the 10th driest year on record of 106 years of records.”
Q: Looking back at all four seasons, what was the average temperature for Moose Jaw in year 2022?
A: “3.3 degrees was the average temperature for the year and the 30-year average is 4.2 degrees, just about a degree below average, making it the 53rd coldest in 122 years of records. I thought one of the most interesting stats I noticed was how hot it was getting late in the season. It was late August and through to September and through to the end of September we had some really hot days.
“The hottest day of the year came on September 7th, reaching 36.6 degrees. I checked and there were six days that were above 35 degrees while the average is only 2.5 days per year that go above 35 degrees. There was one day in June, one day in July, one day in August and three days in September, the 1st, 3rd and 7th. On September 28th it became 30.6 degrees and on September 29th it became 33 degrees what is really unusual. There were 31 days that got over 30 degrees during the season and the average is 22. Despite all that heat we still came out a little cooler than average and that is due to winter and spring being on the colder side Side.
Q: How much rainfall has Moose Jaw seen in total in 2022?
“We’re melting the snow, so total precipitation through mid-December was 10 inches and the 30-year average is 365.2, so just about 70 percent of what we should be getting.”
Q: What major weather events took place in Moose Jaw throughout the year?
A: “I couldn’t find that many and was looking for days characterized by rainfall numbers and maybe when a big rainstorm came through. The wettest day I could find was May 13 at 33.5mm. Looking at how quickly that came, it actually came through the day, so it was more of a rainy day.
“The only day that stood out was October 23rd when we got a big snowstorm moving through a lot of wind and wet heavy snow. There are still leaves on the trees in October and when we get wet, heavy snow in the fall we tend to get a lot of broken branches causing power outages and that’s exactly what happened. An estimated 12 inches of snow fell and it appeared to have cost the City of Moose Jaw nearly $200,000 to clear snow and clean up damaged trees and there were also a number of power outages.”
Q: What is the weather like in early 2023?
A: We’re looking at another La Nina pattern, this is the third year in a row, and they call it a triple dip. It’s a weaker El Nino, this is weakening and transitioning to more neutral conditions, making it a little harder to tip your hat off to anything. The forecast calls for below-average temperatures and above-average precipitation for the southwestern parts of Saskatchewan. We’ll certainly have a white Christmas, but it’ll be on the colder side even as we get into the first half of the year.”
Listen to the full interview with Discover Moose Jaw’s Terri Lang and Jay-D Haughton below:
