Spring Weather Review
Record cold and snow conditions around the world, with one location coming within a whisker of OUR PLANET'S LOWEST EVER seasonal temperature!
The French-Italian Antarctic Station Concordia registered a low of -79.3 Celsius on April 16, which was just 2.5 Celsius off the planet’s coldest April temperature EVER RECORDED!
DISCLAIMER: An imbalance in weather reporting has, in my opinion, reinforced the impression that it is just fire and brimstone from here on out as we accelerate towards a cow fart and coal-induced climate catastrophe. So, as with all of my seasonal weather reviews, I intentionally focus on weather events that register at the bottom of the bulb.
General note
As ever, the conditions highlighted in this newsletter are widespread. I have had to leave many records and locations out, and I could have quite easily doubled the content just by including cold-weather records recorded across Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe and elsewhere.
So pour yourself a nice (warm!) cup of tea, and enjoy!
(And if you find it interesting, please don’t forget to hit the buttons at the end to share, subscribe and follow me for more updates!)
USA
Exceptionally cold weather dominated the US in early March with conditions more winter-like than spring. Hundreds of low temperature records were broken, the coldest reading being registered in Utah at an astonishing mid-March value of -44.7 Celsius!
3.1 inches of snow fell in Amarillo at the end of March, which DOUBLED the previous record for the date set back in 1921.
The unseasonable heavy snow was present further north in Alaska too, with many areas receiving well-above average snowfall, not least the 220% above the norm experienced in Tanana.
A number of record-low maximums were set in New York around this time, with NYC’s having stood since 1893, Hartford, CT’s having stood since 1966 and Allentown, PA’s having stood since 1996.
Hundreds more cold weather records fell in the eastern U.S. in late March including Trenton and Atlantic City breaking records that had stood since 1919 and 1996 respectively.
Denver logged a freezing -12 Celsius on April 13, breaking the previous record low by a whopping five degrees!
And if that wasn’t enough, Wenatchee, WA smashed its previous April snowfall record, which previously stood at half an inch, after it officially registered 7-10 inches within the town, and 16 inches just outside!
Snowfall records continued to fall in April in New York state, in places such as Virgil in Cortland County, Erieville in Madison County, Piseco in upstate New York, and Broome County which had to implement a travel ban at one stage.
Speaking of warnings, in mid-April some 40 million Americans were living under frost and freeze alerts stretching from the central Plains to the mid-Atlantic.
Cold weather still lingered at the end of May, almost into official summertime, when hundreds of low temperature records were broken, not least a 30-year record that fell in Half Moon Bay, California.
By May 20, there was still an impressive 33 inches snow on the ground at the Denali National Park headquarters in Alaska, BY FAR THE MOST ON RECORD this late into the season.
Canada
In March, Toronto broke a weather record that had stood for almost a century. At -10 Celsius the only other years with colder late-March lows are 1873 and 1854.
In the middle of April, an astonishing 3.5 inches of snow settled across the London region, busting the previous benchmark of 3.1 inches set back in 1947, according to Environment Canada (ECCC).
A few days later and a record-breaking 10 cm of late-season snow fell in Montreal, comfortably breaking the city’s previous daily record of 7.6 cm from back in 1949.
Further west, and many British Columbia communities set new record low temperatures. Clinton was one of four communities that saw its lowest-ever minimum temperature for April 16, after also setting new record lows on April 14 and 15 — the low of -9.5 Celsius smashed the village’s previous low of -7.2 Celsius set back in 1976.
The temperature at the Victoria International Airport dropped to 0.8 Celsius, according to ECCC. This busted the previous record low for May 12, set back in 1964. More record cold followed on May 13 and an ALL-TIME LOW for the Victoria area was set.
On May 25, Hall Beach in the far-northern territory of Nunavut plunged to an impressive -22.2 C, a NATIONAL RECORD for this time of year.
Europe
The month of March saw many cold records fall across the Mediterranean; Figari in Corsica had its coldest March day since records began in 1979, Villanova Strisaili in Sardinia had it’s coldest ever March day, and Vathistalos/ Mt. Parnassos in Greece set a NEW GREEK RECORD low for the month of March at an impressive -28.1 Celsius.
And in Cyprus, Trodos Square Mt. Station registered the COUNTRY’S COLDEST EVER March reading at -11.6 Celsius.
Moving into April, Germany broke many monthly record lows including the -10 Celsius at Eslohe, the -9 Celsius at Burgwald-Bottendorf the -7.8 Celsius at Genthin and the -7.5 Celsius at Kyritz.
Over in Spain at around the same time Pamplona, the capital of Navarre province in northern Spain, reached -3.6 Celsius, a NEW NATIONAL LOW for the month of April.
In nearby France during the same month some 80 monthly record lows were seen across the country including;
-20.3 Celsius in Aiguille du Midi
-15.5 Celsius in Ristolas
-9.6 Celsius in Arbent
-5.1 Celsius in Bergerac
-3.6 Celsius in Albi
0.3 Celsius in Toulon
The weather station at Courpiere, east of Clermont-Ferrand logged a daily high of just -0.9 Celsius, which is only the fourth time in recorded history that France has experienced such a low reading at such a low elevation in the month of April.
Across the Channel in the United Kingdom, perhaps the most noteworthy feature was London registering its coldest April low in at least 70 years (with some reports claiming of all time) beating out the previous record of -3.1 Celsius.
The Baltics were not spared of unseasonably cold weather during April either;
Estonia averaged 4 Celsius, -0.9 Celsius below the norm
Lithuania averaged 5.7 Celsius, -1.5 Celsius below the norm
Latvia averaged 5.0 Celsius, -1.1 Celsius below the norm
Moving into May and up into Finland, at the beginning of the month the entire country dropped below freezing, a rare feat for so late on in the spring. Records were broken in process, not least the -15.3 Celsius seen at Saariselkä, a new low record for the month.
Australia
Moving down-under, May saw an early start to the ski season in many locations. Perisher ski resort, for example opened up a week early due to impressive, early snowfall with Thredbo opening a full two weeks ahead of schedule.
A number of cold records were broken elsewhere too; across north-western Australia and central Australia readings of up to 20 Celsius below the seasonal norm were registered.
Pilbara in Western Australia, broke a number of all-time low temperature records including the registering of their COLDEST EVER DAY.
In the southeast, the states of NSW, Victoria and ACT experienced record lows to go along with their early-season snows, with many NSW locales, particularly those in southern parts of the state, suffering their COLDEST MAY DAYS ON RECORD.
South America
Staying in the southern hemisphere, early May saw a number of new monthly low temperature records set in Argentina including Maquinchao’s -11.2 Celsius, San Antonio Oeste’s -6.8 Celsius, Puerto Madryn’s -5.2 Celsius, and Trelew’s -3.9 Celsius.
Towards the end of May, Brazil’s capital Brasilia logged its LOWEST EVER RECORDED TEMPERATURE, a full month before the official start of winter!
Likewise in Sao Paulo, they experienced their coldest May day since 1990, in addition to monthly lows in places including Minas Gerais, Sete Lagoas, Diamantina, Belo Horizonte, and Goias.
At the end of May in Chile, temperatures dropped to -2.1 Celsius in Santiago, the capital’s coldest May reading since 1969. An exceptional -5.9 Celsius was noted at Chillan Airport which was an unprecedented record low for the month of May.
What’s Next?
The ‘meridional flow’ discussed in a previous Autumn Weather Review provides a brief explanation as to the cause of these extreme conditions being reported all around the world, month after month.
This explanation ties in with the weak solar activity that we are seeing in our current solar cycle discussed in my Cosmic Rays newsletter, which itself provides an additional theory as to why average temperatures may be falling.
Only time will tell.
But recent patterns suggest that I will have no shortage of bone-shattering cold weather stories to report on in the next seasonal weather report.. the more you look, the more you find!
I hope you enjoyed!
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-Tristan