By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

NNN’s top 10 of 2017: Extreme weather grips Nanaimo in all seasons

Dec 29, 2017 | 2:24 PM

NANAIMO —  Extreme says it all when looking back at Nanaimo’s weather in 2017.

The Harbour City was slammed with frigid cold and snow during winter, followed by the second-wettest spring on record, then shifting to a desert-dry and unusually hot summer.

Nanaimo saw more than twice its average snowfall last winter, which was the seventh coldest on record. While some people enjoyed the snow, it caused headaches for many commuters forced to contend with the city’s hilly terrain. The City also blew its snow removal budget, leading to a unexpected bump in property taxes.

Environment Canada meteorologist Matt MacDonald told us it was a full three degrees colder than normal from December through February.

“We usually see anywhere from two to three arctic outbreaks. This winter we actually saw six,” MacDonald said. “There was a lot of cold air on the coast.”

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The temperature at last rose and the snow finally melted.

The nasty winter was followed by a soaker of a spring. 

An astounding 365 mm of rain pounded Nanaimo from March through May.

The focal point of the spring downpour was April, where 144 mm was recorded at Nanaimo Airport.

The rain seemed like a distant memory as summer dragged on.

Just 2.8 mm of rain was recorded at Nanaimo Airport for the driest July and August on record. Environment Canada reported it was the fifth driest summer on record and 11th warmest.

Environment Canada has been record-keeping since 1893.

Meteorologist Cindy Yu summed up our weather as a year of “pretty stubborn, extreme weather patterns.”

This story came in at number 5 on our top 10 list of biggest stories we covered this year. NanaimoNewsNOW is counting down our top 10 local stories of 2017, with the top two stories named on New Year’s Eve. Be sure to check back and offer your thoughts on the biggest stories of 2017.

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