THUNDER BAY—April 2018 has wrapped up as the second-coldest in the city since Environment Canada began recording weather data at Thunder Bay International Airport in 1940.
According to meteorologist Geoff Coulson, the month finished with an average temperature around -0.4 C, nearly 3.5 degrees colder than the long-term April average of 2.9 C.
"(It was) much, much colder than normal for this time of year," Coulson said, adding that the anomaly was very significant.
The only colder April over the last 78 years was in 1950, when the average temperature for the month was -2.2 C.
April 2018 was also a notably dry month in Thunder Bay.
Coulson said there wasn't much in the way of rainfall, with only 1.6 millimetres recorded at the airport, in comparison with the typical April rainfall of 29.5 millimetres.
"Because it was so cold, pretty well all our precipitation fell in the form of snow," he said.
An Environment Canada observation site in the Hazelwood area just west of the city recorded 18.6 centimetres of snow, compared with the long-term April average of 12.4 centimetres.
Total precipitation (rain and snow) was 19.9 millimetres, far below the typical amount of nearly 42 millimetres.
