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Snow in April in Nanaimo unusual but not unheard of

Nanaimo had four straight days of snow in April 2008, according to Environment Canada
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Snow fell and accumulated some areas of Nanaimo on Sunday, April 10, when temperatures dropped to near freezing. (News Bulletin file photo)

Snow falling in April in Nanaimo isn’t unheard of, but it is unusual.

On Sunday, April 10, snow fell throughout the day as temperature took a downward turn.

Environment Canada did not have snow accumulation figures from Nanaimo Airport for the day, but residents around the city posted photos on social media showing snow-covered gardens and lawns.

Bobby Sekhon, Environment Canada meteorologist, said Shawnigan Lake recorded six centimetres of snow.

He said cold air over much of Canada over the past several days has kept temperatures low.

“These late-season snowfalls, they can happen because right now what we have is a lot of cold air aloft and this broad trough across Western Canada is bring some cold conditions…” Sekhon said. “This is the time of year when you can really get a mixed bag of weather, anything from heat waves to snow to strong winds, like we saw last week. This is a tricky time of year.”

According to Environment Canada records, 26 centimetres of snow dumped on Nanaimo on April 18, 2008, and smaller amounts of snow fell the following three days, too. Nanaimo also had 4.6cm of snow on April 12, 1981.

“There’s actually been reports of snowfall into May,” Sekhon said. “We had one centimetre fall on May 8 in 1996.”



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Chris Bush

About the Author: Chris Bush

As a photographer/reporter with the Nanaimo News Bulletin since 1998.
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