February in Ottawa was more than 4 degrees warmer than average

A runner at Dows Lake takes advantage of mild temperatures. Feb. 27, 2024. (Jackie Perez/CTV News Ottawa)

This past February was more than four degrees warmer than average, according to data from Environment and Climate Change Canada.

The weather agency says February was the third consecutive month where mean temperatures were above normal across Ontario.

"As with all months this winter, cold spells were somewhat rare and rather brief," it said.

The monthly mean temperature in Ottawa in February was -3.9 C, which is 4.2 degrees above the normal mean of -8.1 C.

There were 17 days in February where the high temperature in Ottawa was above 0 C. Three days had low temperatures above 0 C.

Several temperature records were set in the past month, including record highs on Feb. 9 and 28. The highest temperature ever recorded in the month of February also occurred on the 28th, when it reached 15.7 C. A rapid 29-degree drop in temperature to end the month followed that. The temperature also never hit -20 C once in February (nor in January) for the first time since records began.

Ottawa also saw lower than usual levels of snow, with just 15 centimetres of snow observed at the Ottawa Airport, well below the monthly normal of 43 cm.

Nearly all the snow that fell in February came on a single day. Ottawa got 9.8 cm of snow on the 15th as part of a major storm system that swept across the region. There were only two other days were snowfall totals were 1 cm or more, on Feb. 16 and Feb. 18.

Looking ahead to March, Environment and Climate Change Canada says temperatures in Ontario are expected to be warmer than normal again, especially in southern and northeastern Ontario. There is no clear signal on whether precipitation will be higher or lower than normal for eastern Ontario, though the north is expected to be wetter than usual.