Climate Trends and Variations Bulletin - Winter 1991/1992 - The First Bulletin 

Winter 1991/1992 bulletin (PDF, 0.3 MB)

This bulletin, published in 1992, was the first of what would later become the Climate Trends and Variations Bulletin (CTVB) which summarized climate data and presented it in a historical context. It first examined the national average temperature for the winter season (December 1991, January and February 1992) and then highlighted interesting regional temperature information.

Winter 1992 National Summary

Preliminary data for winter 1992 show above normal temperature for most of the country. The attached national map of winter 1992 temperature departures clearly shows winter values above normal all the way from Yukon to the lower Great Lakes. The warming generally peak at 6°C to 8°C above normal in central British Columbia and on the Prairies. Northern and eastern Canada, on the other hand, show below normal values from the high Arctic to the Atlantic Coast. Labrador displays the strongest negative departures with values of -3°C to -5°C.

Analysis of the national and regional 98-year time series of mean winter temperature departures indicates a trend toward warmer winters in most regions of Canada. The notable exception is along the Baffin Island/Labrador coastline. Nationally, as shown in the attached time series, the best-fit linear trend indicates an increase of 1.1°C over the 1895 to 1992 period. However, the trend is not statistically significant, as is also the case in most regions of the country.

The regional and national departure series when ranked from warmest to coolest reveal some interesting statistics. Nationally winter 1992 ranks as the 7th warmest in the 98-year period, while winter 1991 is well down in the ranking, in 35th position. The all-time warmest winter in the period is 1931, followed in 2nd place by 1987, and in third by 1940.

Regionally, 1992 was the warmest winter in the 98-year period in southern British Columbia, 3rd warmest in the prairies, 4th warmest along the Pacific coast, 5th warmest in the northwestern boreal forest and 10th warmest in Yukon Territory and northern British Columbia.

Climate Change Detection Division
April 14, 1992

Canada 1895 – 1992 Winter Departures  

Winter Surface Temperature Departures from 1951-80 Average for 1992