After months of unusual or extreme weather, 2022 started off nice and normal.
"For the month of January around here, Vancouver pretty much was bang on average," says Environment Canada meteorologist Bobby Sekhon.
While it was a damp month, that's normal for January. In fact, January 2022 was drier than normal, with 147 mm of precipitation falling compared to 168 mm in the average January.
And if you thought it snowed more than usual, the stats don't really back that up, with only around 17 cm falling compared to the usual 23 cm.
"It was less exciting than November and December here I would say," says Sekhon. "It's definitely good to have a bit of a break."
Sekhon notes that it was the snowiest Jan. 6 ever, but that the record of 12 cm isn't particularly notable. Thanks to a cooler start to the month that snow did stick around a while, though.
That cold start, mixed with a mild middle of the month actually brought the month to a 4.1 C average for the month, which is the exact average of the average January.
Perhaps the most unusual part of the month, from a weather perspective, was the string of foggy days near the end of the month. However, it's difficult to measure and show that foggy-ness with statistics.
"It was quite foggy, that was a big change, where we, for at least a week there, we saw some pretty low visibility around town," Sekhon says.
He explains it was thanks to an inversion with warm air creating a sort of lid on the moisture over Vancouver. Freezing levels were as high as 3,000 m up. While it was quite foggy, it's to be expected now.
"In general January is the foggiest month of the year," Sekhon says.
