Why This Page?
Why did I create this page full of Winnipeg temperature records going back to 1872? Well it's simply because Environment Canada currently isn't telling us the whole story on its web site. Or it’s all there, but you have to dig around for it.
The Environment Canada daily record values for Winnipeg page at http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/almanac/almanac_e.html?ywg, shows the record values for the current day. But note it says these are records for the period 1938-2008. From that, you might conclude there are no records before 1938.
But hold on. Right up to the present, July 2018, the Winnipeg Free Press has been publishing monthly weather stats on the last Saturday of every month, showing, among other things, record temperatures in Winnipeg going back to 1872! That’s over 75 extra years of records! The articles are entitled “Temperature Comparison Chart For ...”, and the record temps appear under the heading “Extremes Since 1872”.
So for some recent examples, back on July 11, 2012, Environment Canada’s web site reported the record high for that date was 34.4. And the temperature that day hit 34.5, breaking that record. But checking the records going back to 1872, we find that in 1936, the temperature had reached 42.2 Celsius (108 Fahrenheit). Notably the highest temperature recorded in Winnipeg since records began in 1872! And quite a bit higher than our apparent record-breaking 34.5.
Now go to the climate normals and averages page for Winnipeg at http://www.climate.weatheroffice.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_e.html?stnID=3698&prov=&lang=e&dCode=1&dispBack=1&StationName=winnip&SearchType=Contains&province=ALL&provBut=&month1=0&month2=12. And click the “Normals Data” tab. Scroll down a bit and you’ll see the highest temp for August was 40.6 in 1949. And this is correct. But it’s bolded, as it is the highest temperature recorded in Winnipeg from 1938 to 2008. That’s fine, but it was higher in 1936! Twice too – the record for July 7th is 41.1, also in 1936!
To me it’s unfortunate that we are being told only part of the Winnipeg climate story on the Environment Canada web pages for Winnipeg. Now, I am not claiming to be the big authority on this. You see, I’m only reporting all this because an amateur meteorologist, Arline Moor, who you may have known, took the trouble to cut out these monthly climate reports from the Free Press. And make careful notes and corrections where necessary. If it wasn’t for her work, I’d be sitting here going, La La La, I trust everything Environment Canada tells me! So this page is in a way a tribute to her record keeping.
Funny thing is, the Free Press didn’t keep track of these records themselves. Their source? Environment Canada.
So what’s the dealy here? It’s related to the different weather stations that have been used in Winnipeg. Environment Canada’s Winnipeg 7-Day Forecast page, at https://weather.gc.ca/city/pages/mb-38_metric_e.html, reports data for station “Winnipeg Richardson Int'l Airport” only. Which has daily stats for 1938 to 2008 only. (Though it has hourly stats right up to 2018!) So what about anything before 1938? Or after 2008? Well you’ve got to go find whatever other weather station in their historical data page. Which one? There’s more than twenty!
Looks like any data prior to 1938 was recorded at only one Winnipeg weather station, at “Winnipeg St. John’s College”. OK then what about daily data after 2008? In March 2012 we set EIGHT record high temperatures. Well where do you find record of those? How about “Winnipeg A CS Manitoba”? Yes it has daily data but not the figures I’ve got recorded. It does have the August 2018 records for the 11th and 12th we just set. So… try again. Ya know what? The records I have for March 2012 come from the Free Press publication only. Can’t find them online!
So what do we do. Seems like the Free Press publication combines all the “official” weather stations from 1872 all the way to 2018. Their DAILY weather stats. Winnipeg St. John’s College from 1872 to 1938, Winnipeg Richardson Int'l Airport from 1938 to 2008, and Winnipeg A CS Manitoba for 2008 thru to the present. (Except for March 2012 – where did those come from!) Let’s dub these the “official” Winnipeg weather stations. And use their daily data to make a “complete” record. Seems like that’s what’s being published in the Free Press every month! By Environment Canada.
So the “Winnipeg Richardson Int'l Airport” record highs and lows from 1938 to 2008 is all you see on the Winnipeg 7-Day Forecast page. Want more? Gotta go to their historical data pages for that. So if you want to know, for example, that there were EIGHT record high temperatures in July 1936, or again EIGHT record highs in March 2012, you’ve got to go to the St. John’s College or Winnipeg A CS station data. Too bad we can’t have records from 1872 all the way to 2018 right there on the main 7-Day Forecast page.
One final note about how all the old values appear to be conversions from whole Fahrenheit numbers – ie. In May, there are quite a number of record highs of 33.3 Celsius. Which converts to 91.94 Fahrenheit. These range from 1900 all the way to 1972! (Ignore the 2014 one) Strange so many are so identical? Not really. I think those temperatures were recorded in Fahrenheit back then. So the reported record was 92 Fahrenheit. Which converts to 33.3 Celsius. No tenths of a Fahrenheit degree back then... it was all whole numbers. That went til whatever year we officially started using Celsius. You can figure it out from the records I bet! Somewhere after 1972! But for sure before the May 24 2014 record of 33.3 – we were definitely using Celsius then!
This page last updated August 14, 2018