Records broken across Canada due to lack of March snow
A lack of snow across Canada during March has broken records for the normally snowy month.
Average precipitation figures for Toronto, Canada.
Toronto, which on average sees 22 centimetres (nine inches) of snow in March, recorded none during the month for the first time since records began in 1845.
The snowiest national capital in the world, Ottawa, also saw no March snow for the first time on record, when it would normally expect 40cm (16in).
Climatologists in Canada pointed the blame at the El Niño phenomenon, which helped to disrupt the typical winter weather patterns and prevent cold Arctic air from sweeping down across the country.
Not only did Toronto have a snowless March, it also saw none in November, limiting winter to just three months instead of the more usual six.
Elsewhere in Canada the story has been repeated.
Calgary saw its second-lowest March snowfall on record and Edmonton its third-lowest.
Montreal had just 1.4cm (0.6in) during the month, breaking the previous record of 2.6cm (1.0in) which was set in March 2009.
During winter the city of London, Ontario, is often battered by lake-effect snow, caused when Arctic air flows over the relatively warm Lake Huron, but not a flake fell during March.
The Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics in February famously suffered with the lack of snow over some of its ski areas, most notably Cypress Mountain which was the venue for freestyle skiing and snowboarding events.
To allow the athletes to compete, snow had to be brought in by road and air from other areas up to 150 miles away.
Better late than never however, Cypress Mountain bucked the March trend as seen elsewhere in Canada and reported that 50cm (20in) of fresh snow fell on the 31st.
