Warmer winter for most in Nunavut, Nunavik: Environment Canada

Warmer temperatures and rain caused this past winter’s accumulation on snow to slide down a hill and slam into this house in Kimmirut on May 6. No one was injured. (PHOTO HARVESTED FROM FACEBOOK)

This Environment Canada map shows the temperature variation during the winter of 2011/2012 — and shows that nearly all of Nunavut experienced higher-than-average temperatures this past winter.

Canada — including most of Nunavut and all of Nunavik — experienced a warmer than average winter this past year, while in Nunavik it was also much drier than usual, Environment Canada said in its May 7 climate bulletin.

The national average temperature for the winter of 2011-2012 was 3.6 C above normal (1961-1990 average), which makes this the third warmest winter on record since nationwide records began in 1948.

The warmest winter was 2009/2010, 4.1 C above normal.

At 3.5 C below normal 1971/1972 was the coolest.

As the bulletin’s temperature departures map above shows, nearly all of the country was above normal. Northern Nunavut experienced the closest to normal temperatures this winter, Environment Canada said.

But nine of the 11 climate regions experienced rankings among their 10 warmest winters this year, including the Arctic Tundra region, which includes most of Nunavut, where it was 2.5 C above normal.

As for precipitation, Canada experienced a much drier than normal winter in 2011-2012, with northern Quebec experiencing conditions that were at least 40 per cent drier than normal.

The two areas of Canada that saw wetter than normal conditions over the past winter included northern Manitoba running up through eastern Nunavut.