By Dr. Adam Fenech, Director, Climate Lab, University of Prince Edward Island

It seems as if PEI has been battered by one storm after another over the past month – heavy snow, freezing rain and strong winds. On the final day of December 2013, we take the tally of snow, ice and rain for the month and see how it stacks up against previous Decembers. So how bad was it?

The verdict is in. For overall total precipitation, December 2013 saw about 215 millimeters (mm) of both rain and snow almost twice the new climate normal (117 mm or the average from 1981 to 2010). It is the December with the most precipitation in almost 25 years when 260 mm fell in December 1990.

Looking at just the snow, over 100 centimeters (cm) fell this December, the most since 2007 when 150 cm fell. This year’s December snowfall was almost double the new climate normal of 65 cm (the average from 1981 to 2010), and certainly much more than December 2012 or the few years prior.

Why is snow important?

Some PEI businesses enjoyed a financial boost thanks to the early winter weather in December 2013. Businesses that offer sleigh and wagon rides looked at this snowfall as an early Christmas present, as their sales figures jumped about 50 per cent over the previous December. Brookvale Ski Park opened before Christmas for the first time in at least 10 years and towing businesses saw an increase of 20-30 per cent from normal due to the snow.

Snow is also necessary for farmers.  The snow blankets the fields so that when it all melts in the spring, the fields are properly irrigated and ready for planting.  A lack of moisture in the soil in the spring is problematic and can force farmers in severe situations to either reduce their plantings or in a worst case scenario, not plant at all.  Certain crops also need snow cover to provide insulation from extreme cold.  When these crops are exposed to the elements, they become vulnerable to frost which can kill the crop outright.

So PEI’s amount of snow and rain in December 2013 was higher than normal but not record breaking. We do not know what is ahead for the next two months of winter, but Nature has a way of averaging things out over the course of a season so I’d say enjoy the snow while it is here  – as my Mother would say “get outside and play in the snow”.

Questions? Contact Adam Fenech at afenech@upei.ca or (902) 620-5220