Snow fall still below seasonal average

Despite the city’s most recent dump of the white fluffy stuff, a local climatologist said this winter Thunder Bay is well below the normal snowfall average.

Graham Saunders, who takes daily measurements, said there’s nothing really special about the amount of snow the city’s seen in 2011, though it does dwarf last winter’s record low 70 centimetres. 

“It’s not remarkable at all. So far this year we’ve had, at the airport, about 120 centimetres, counting today. The normal used to be 213 centimetres. So we’re well below normal right now. We still have March and April, but we’re below normal,” said Saunders, a South Gillies resident who takes twice-daily measurements when snow is falling.

Saunders said the reason some people might think it’s been a heavy snow season has a lot to do with last winter.

“It’s quite different this winter. We have no shortage of snow. But I think the skiers and outdoor people are delighted,” he said. “But anybody who has a memory that goes back to 1995 or 1996 will remember more than three-and-a-half metres of snow fell that year. So this year, it’s not so much.”

Saunders blames the year-to-year fluctuations on a number of weather-related phenomenon, as well as the city’s geographic location.

“It’s a few things. El Nino and La Nina, big events in the Pacific Ocean, but also locally in Thunder Bay Lake Superior plays a big effect. The lake is still open mostly. I know the bay is covered mostly, but we’re getting snow today in part because of winds coming off Lake Superior,” Saunders said.

With the official start of spring less than two weeks away, residents of the city are having mixed reactions to the latest storm.
Some, like Daryl Walker, see dollar signs.

“I’m not a big fan of snow, but when it dumps there’s a lot of money to be made, so I don’t mind it too much,” he said, taking a break from shoveling a McKibbon Street driveway. “But I’m hoping it’s the end of it.

“I definitely think it was a pretty good winter, but it would be great to let it end.”
Beth Boon, cleaning her driveway off a little further up the street, said shoveling and snow are what winter’s all about.

“I love it. It’s the reason I returned back to Northern Ontario. You have four seasons, and yeah, one of them you’ve got to shovel,” she said.

Still, she’d be OK if more spring-like weather came along and this was the last of the snow for this part of 2011.

“Sure, I’m hoping for it for sure,” she said. “But Environment Canada says the groundhog is wrong and we’re supposed to have (months) of it. My back and arms are finished.”

Sharon Charneski, who used the aid of a snow-blower to power through the coating her driveway got, said the 20-plus centimeters the city received was a little bit much, but all in all it’s been a good season.

“Actually the winter has not been that bad,” she said. “The snow’s all been light, so you can’t complain. It’s Thunder Bay.”

It’s not over yet.

Environment Canada is calling for light flurries on Wednesday, with periods of snow expected on Saturday.