Submitted by Bill Caulfeild-Browne
1923, 100 years ago, boasted the warmest December on record with a mean temperature of +0.8C, just above freezing. 1952 was the only other year in the past century that had a mean temperature exceeding zero degrees – it was +0.2C.
2023 knocked those records out of the ball park with a whopping mean of +2.0C, exactly five degrees above the long-term average. Further confirmation – if it’s needed – that the winters are warming faster than the summers.
No wonder we didn’t have a white Xmas – the 25th was the warmest day of the month at 10.4C. The coldest day was the 19th at -6.7C, roughly the same as the coldest day in November. On top of that, it was a dry month. My station recorded just 29mm of moisture, half the average of 60mm.
We were not alone. Nearly every location in Ontario from Windsor to Kapuskasing broke records – Thunder Bay was 10C above normal while Toronto was the same as us. However, areas south of us got much more precipitation. Areas like Welland and Kingston saw 20-40% more than average, while areas to the north like Sudbury saw only 25% of normal.
The year as a whole continued the warming of the post-industrial world. For Tobermory it was the second hottest (tied) year on record at a full 2.0C above normal, eclipsed only by 2012 which had an unusually warm summer.
As I write this on January 4th it looks as if real winter will be held at bay for a while yet. Last night did drop to -8C but the forecast continues to show highs around the freezing mark – most un-January like. This is bad news for humans who like to ski or snowmobile and for animals who should be hibernating. We had a black bear on our deck just last week, using up his fat reserves when he should be sleeping.
On that note I’ll leave you with wishes for a more normal climate in 2024.
