British Columbia

Vancouver cold: City experiences chilliest February on record

The average daily temperature for the month was 0.3 C compared to the past 30 year average of 4.9 C, a difference of more than four degrees.

Average daily temp was just 0.3 C compared to 30 year average of 4.9 C

A person walks a dog as heavy snow falls in Vancouver, on Feb. 10, 2019. (Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press)

You can make fun of Vancouverites' apparent weakness for cold weather all you want, but the past month did set a record for freezing temperatures.

According to Environment Canada, February was the coldest month since records began being kept in 1937.

The average daily temperature for the month was 0.3 C compared to the past 30 year average of 4.9 C, a difference of more than four degrees.

Children bundled up throw rocks on one of Vancouver's beaches in February 2019. The month was the coldest since records began being kept in 1937. (CBC)

The city also made it into the top 10 snowiest Februarys with 31.2 centimetres of the white stuff. The record, 61 centimetres, was set in 1949.

In February in Vancouver, there were 13 days when snow fell. That is 11 days more than the average for the month, which is two.

Victoria also had the snowiest February on record with 68.3 centimetres of snow. More than 26 centimetres fell on Feb. 11, according to Environment Canada.

According to CBC meteorologist Johanna Wagstaffe, the long range outlook for March for the coast is for colder than average temperatures.

Snow falls on a statue of Terry Fox in Vancouver in February, 2019, outside BC Place. (CBC)

With files from Johanna Wagstaffe