You're not imagining it — Ottawa is warmer and snowier than usual this winter
Saturday should bring total snowfall close to 3 metres since November's first flakes
No, it's not in your head — Ottawa is warmer and snowier than usual this winter.
Over the past couple months, the city has been struck by unusually warm weather, upending key activities such as Winterlude and skating on the Rideau Canal Skateway.
February was Ottawa's fifth straight month with a mean temperature warmer than average, compared to weather data collected over nearly three decades.
The sharpest difference was in January. The mean January temperature in Ottawa between 1981 and 2010 was –10.2 C. This year, the mean temperature was –5.9 C.
The city is also seeing more snowfall than usual.
Ottawa's international airport has recorded roughly 280 centimetres of snow since the first flakes fell in November. Its average winter is about 225 centimetres.
That site has only seen 300 centimetres of snow three times since 2000.
Environment Canada forecasts more snow Saturday. It could be Ottawa's 12th day with at least 10 centimetres of snow since winter began Dec. 21 and would push it closer to that three metre mark.