Record precipitation in Whitehorse this winter, and it's likely not done yet

It's no surprise to those snow-shovellerswith back pain Whitehorse saw a record amount of precipitation over the winter months.

Doug Lundquist of Environment Canada said the region saw the "wettest-ever" period between November and February, with 123 millimetres of snow or rain falling in those months, compared to the previousrecord of 120 millimetres in 2008/09.

Environment Canada does not measure snow on the ground, so Lundquist couldn't say for sure whether it's piled up higher than ever before.

But he acknowledges it was an unusually snowy winter in many parts of the territory, and even if the calendar says it's now spring, the forecast suggests otherwise.

"It doesn't look like it's going to be warm for the next week or so.We're not going to see, even in Whitehorse, temperatures much above zero," he said.

The forecast for April also looks cooler than normal, he said.The risk of flooding is higher if the spring melt is delayed, and it could happen quickly if there's a sudden warm spell.

"I know the people in the hydrology section of Yukon government are probably concerned about that for sure," Lundquist said.

"It's already a high snowpack and any delay isn't really a good thing."

According to the Yukon government's snow bulletin for March, issued earlier this month, some parts of the territory had"snow water equivalent" that was almost twice the historic median. In the Whitehorse area, it was 184 per cent above the median for that time of year.

It's best if all that snow starts melting soon, and gradually, over the coming weeks, Lundquist said.

Doug Phillips, Environment Canada's senior climatologist, said apart from the snowfall, the territory has not had an otherwise unusual winter. It was the 27th-warmest in the last 73 years of record-keeping.

"Overall, I think the months of December, January, February turned out to be a little milder than normal. But really, the winter has seemed long because it began in October and is still continuing today," Phillips said.

"Many Canadians are saying that spring has sprung, but it certainly hasn't in the northwest."

As for summer, Phillips said it looks like Yukon can expect a fairly normal one, weather-wise.

"In the northwest most of British Columbia, Yukon, Northwest Territories we call it to be near normal conditions," he said.

"I mean, hey, that's still far off. We could be wrong. And we always sometimes change our mind. But right now, that seems to be what the situation is."