Did Toronto just beat Calgary at its own wintry game?
A true winter upset may have just taken place now that meteorological winter is over.
It was a cold and stormy winter across most of Canada, and now that meteorological spring has sprung, it's time to see which major city had the worst winter.
In one corner, we have Calgary, a city famous for its harsh weather and cold, Prairie climate.
In the other corner, we have... Toronto? Located in southern Ontario, Toronto typically sees much milder winters compared to Calgary, but an active winter storm track and multiple Arctic air outbreaks may have just been enough to stand a chance against the Prairies.
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Round one: Battle of the thermometer
Although Calgary did have an exceptionally cold December thanks to a potent Arctic air outbreak, Toronto had a colder-than-average January and February. The prolonged cold stretch across southern Ontario helped to lower Toronto's average winter temperature to beat out Calgary's.
Looking at extreme temperatures, however, we saw Calgary experience greater temperature volatility, especially in February. This is largely thanks to the city's proximity to the Rocky Mountains, which generate warm Chinook winds. The battle between frigid Arctic air in the north and warm Chinooks to the west made for a rollercoaster of extreme temperatures that Toronto just could not beat, thus making round one a tie.
Round two: Snow, snow, and more snow
Snow is a defining feature of winter in Canada. Both the Prairies and Ontario were slammed by active storm tracks through the season, but who got buried in the most snow?
Shockingly, it's Toronto! The city recorded 160.2 cm of snowfall through the season, as well as 45 continuous days of having a snowpack. This beats out Calgary's 39.9 cm and 43 days of snowpack by a large margin.
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In fact, it snowed more in a single day in Toronto than it did over the entire season in Calgary! On Jan. 25, a powerful snowstorm dropped 46.2 cm of snow over Toronto, resulting in widespread school closures and flight cancellations.
Therefore, round two goes to Toronto.
Round three: Who had the greatest 'gust'o?
Both cities saw powerful storms bring high winds and whiteout conditions, but this round has to go Toronto once more. A wind speed of 96 km/h was recorded at Pearson International Airport on Jan. 9, narrowly beating Calgary's top recorded wind speed of 91 km/h on Dec. 17.
The winner: Toronto!
That's right, Toronto just had a worse winter than Calgary did. In a winter upset, Toronto experienced more winter impacts and was all around colder, snowier, and windier.
Despite March 1 being the start of meteorological spring, we may see winter attempt to fight back a little longer. Check out The Weather Network's official March Outlook to see what's in store for you.