You're not wrong, we did see a lot of snow in Waterloo region in first 2 months of 2025
'It's not people's imagination,' UW weather station co-ordinator Frank Seglenieks says
The first two months of 2025 were the snowiest in Waterloo region in about 15 years.
Frank Seglenieks, co-ordinator of the Eric. D Soulis Weather Station at the University of Waterloo, says it was clearly visible on front lawns and along every road.
"It's not people's imagination," he said during an interview on CBC K-W's The Morning Edition with host Craig Norris on Monday.
Seglenieks says the weather station reported 180 cm of snow in the first two months of the year. Normally, the region would see about 120 cm. The past two winters were much less due to milder temperatures.
"It's been since 2008 that we saw this much snow," he said. "Maybe more of a typical winter we saw in the 1970s, but it's certainly a much more severe of a winter than we've seen in many years in this region."
He says a series of snowstorms, particularly in February, brought much of the snow and there was no thaw between them.
Seglenieks says March typically sees a warm up but temperatures are expected to bounce around and the precipitation is expected to change away from snow.
LISTEN | It's not your imagination, January and February saw the most snowfall since 2008:
For example, a special weather statement has been issued by Environment Canada for Wednesday due to mild temperatures and significant rainfall with up to 20 mm expected. The rain will also bring isolated thunderstorms, the statement says.
This week, Environment Canada's forecast says daytime temperatures will be above freezing every day except Thursday, with rain and snow possible.
Weather station contest returns
The weather station's annual contest asking people to guess what day and time the region will see 20 C for the first time is also now running.
The contest goes back to 1998. Last year, it was April 8 at 12:30 p.m. when it hit 20 C. The earliest day to hit 20 C was March 8, 2000 at 12 p.m. The latest day was May 13, 2020 at 3:15 p.m.
"I think more than years in the past, people are really looking forward to those warmer temperatures," Seglenieks said.
Unfortunately, he doesn't have any tips to help people pick a day and time.
"I have absolutely no guess," he said. "In our office, we try our own little contest. I'm terrible at it."
The contest, which can be found on the weather station's website, closes Friday.