December
In B.C., most of the month will be unsettled and stormy with rain, snow and strong winds, but conditions should clear up from Christmas to the end of the year.
It's expected to be brutal in the Prairies this December. Weather will flip-flop between pleasant and unsettled conditions but then right before Christmas, a blast of arctic air will plunge temperatures down between -30 and -50 C. Snow showers will ring in the new year.
For the first few weeks of the month in Ontario, there will be snow for southeastern parts of the province including the GTA and flurries elsewhere. It will be chilly for most of the month and "brutally cold" on Christmas and Boxing Day before slightly warming up at the end of the month.
For Quebec, Nova Scotia, P.E.I. and New Brunswick, widespread snowfall will start the month and then conditions will flip-flop between snow and rain. Frigid temperatures arrive from the arctic for Christmas but warm up to close out 2021.
In Newfoundland and Labrador, it will be cold with big storms that bring heavy rain and snow to the province throughout the month.
January
For B.C., the month of January will go back and forth between fair weather and unsettled conditions with pockets of brief cold. Storms will move in near the beginning of the month with heavy rain in coastal areas and accumulating snow in higher terrains.
In the Prairies, light snow will cover the region at the beginning of the month and then become more severe with the potential for 20 to 30 centimetres. It will also be "frigidly cold" as snowy and windy conditions move across Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
Almost every week during January will be snowy in Ontario. The most accumulation is expected to come near the end of the month with more than 10 centimetres forecasted by the Farmers' Almanac. Temperatures won't be that cold.
In Quebec, Nova Scotia, P.E.I. and New Brunswick, the month will start off "unseasonably mild" with rain showers. Then weather systems will drop 10 to 20 centimetres in Quebec and New Brunswick while mixed precipitation will happen in P.E.I. and Nova Scotia. January will end with a flip-flop of snow and rain.
For Newfoundland and Labrador, there will be both snow and rain throughout the month along with mild and cold temperatures.
February
A "powerful" storm will move into B.C. at the beginning of February that will cause heavy rain on the coast and upwards of 30 centimetres of snow to high terrains. It will start off cold but then get mild as the month goes on with rain and some change for snow.
The Prairies will have to deal with very cold temperatures and, of course, snow throughout the entire month.
In Ontario: "frigidly cold" conditions will arrive with flurries expected throughout the month. For the last few days of February, a major storm will move through the U.S. just south of the Great Lakes, and it's possible that up to 45 centimetres could fall to the north of that track.
For Quebec, Nova Scotia, P.E.I. and New Brunswick, it will be chilly for the entire month. That same storm that could bring 45 centimetres to Ontario could also bring 30 to 60 centimetres to Quebec! It'll be a wintery mix with rain for the other three provinces.
Newfoundland and Labrador will get cold temperatures throughout all of February with pockets of showers, flurries and light snow.
March
In the last official month of winter, B.C. will start the transition to spring with just a little bit of cold and a lot of rain showers.
It will be stormy in the Prairies before winter ends in March, but then conditions will turn fair.
Ontario will start off the month with fair weather and thunderstorms. Around the first day of spring, the Farmers' Alamanc expects that temperatures will turn cold with frequent snow showers and flurries around the Great Lakes.
For Quebec, Nova Scotia, P.E.I. and New Brunswick, there will be light snow, flurries and some rain. Right before winter officially ends, a storm system will bring 30 to 60 centimetres of snow to the St. Lawrence Valley and the Maritimes.
In Newfoundland and Labrador, the month will start off with up to 50 centimetres in parts of the province. Then there will be a back-and-forth between rain and significant snowfalls to end winter.
So, you might want to keep the shovel or snow blower handy throughout the season!
This article’s cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.
