January was very confusing to Moose Jaw residents in terms of weather, as at times it felt like a see-saw battle with Mother Nature.  

The month started with somewhat cold temperatures, then the switch flipped and the weather warmed up, and the end of January was back to well below freezing.  

Those factors just mentioned led Moose Jaw to come in well above average in terms of temperature and precipitation.  

“With an average temperature of –9.1 C and was well above the 30-year average of –12.3 C,” says Environment Canada Meteorologist, Terri Lang. “In fact, it was 2.3 degrees above the average, making it the 20th warmest in 126 years of records.” 

You also can’t forget the weeks of very limited sunshine due to fog blanketing the area. Lang says that lengthy fog exposure had a hand to play in the above-average month.  

“We had that lack of weather systems over the province,” adds Lang. “The high Arctic jet stream stayed well north, and the southern jet stream stayed well south. That allowed the low cloud and fog to settle in. The low cloud acts like a blanket, keeps the heat in and doesn’t allow the sun's rays in.” 

Environment Canada also didn’t see much of a variation between daytime highs and overnight lows throughout the month.  

There was a positive that came out of the fog-filled January, as the conditions created neat a weather phenomenon called rime-icing.  

Fog is made up of tiny water particles that linger in the air and attach themselves to objects such as trees, roads, and even your car.   

When those fog particles attach themselves to a below-freezing object, it creates rime-icing. 

Lang says that rime-icing can survive in liquid form in temperatures up to –25 degrees Celsius.   

“It was very good for people that like to take photos of the trees all dressed up.” 

The intense fog blanket over Moose Jaw and most of Saskatchewan prevented moisture to seep through, which in turn led to a very dry January.  

“It was dry over most of the province. For Moose Jaw only 7.1 millimetres of precipitation, which was melted snow. You guys did get some rain in that late January system. The 30-year average for the month is 16.8 mm.” 

Moose Jaw’s 7.1 mm was only 42 per cent of the usual average amount of precipitation seen in January, which in turn was the 24th driest month in 115 years of data.  

With January behind us, it’s time to see what the early predictions have for February.  

“It’s changing. Early predictions for February were saying that it was going to be below average and that was based on the pattern that was emerging with the Arctic air sinking down. Subsequent longer-range models are showing that it’s a better chance of it being closer to the average for February.” 

The start of February is expected to be quite mild with Friday’s forecast showing a high of –2 C on Friday, +2 on Saturday, +3 for Sunday and Monday, and +8 on Tuesday.

The average high in February is –4 C, while the overnight low is usually around –14.2 C.