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January snowfall double the norm at Castlegar weather station

January also saw twice the rain as usual
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Photo by Leta Mcconnell

It wasn’t your imagination — it was a very wet and snowy January.

A series of 12 Pacific frontal systems brought twice as much rain and snow to the area in January than usual.

A new record was also set for the most days in a month with measurable precipitation at 26 days. If you include days that had trace amounts of precipitation, there were only two dry days for the whole month.

A bulk of the month’s snow fell during the period of Jan. 6-16 with 78 cm of the total 107 cm falling during that time.

All of that snow brought the local accumulation level to 61 cm, but the mild temperatures and 42 mm of rain at the end of the month brought it back down to 24 cm by the end of January.

The warmest temperature of the month was reported on the fourth at +7.7 degrees. This set a new daily record, but fell short of the monthly record high of +10.

The minimum monthly temperature was recorded on Jan. 15 at -14.7.

Up in the mountains snowfall records were also set. The Kootenay Pass weather station set a record for most snowfall in January since it started keeping records in 1997. A total of 374 cm fell during January. In 2019, only 135 cm fell.

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Betsy Kline

About the Author: Betsy Kline

After spending several years as a freelance writer for the Castlegar News, Betsy joined the editorial staff as a reporter in March of 2015. In 2020, she moved into the editor's position.
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