Snowiest January this century in Kawartha Lakes

The 113 cm of accumulation has kept shovels busy

After the warmest fall on record in Ontario, very little snow in November, and only an average accumulation in December, winter truly arrived with the turning of the calendar, dropping 113 cm of snow across Kawartha Lakes since Jan. 1. This accumulation shatters all records for January snowfall in Kawartha Lakes recorded this century.

David Phillips, a senior meteorologist for Environment Canada, told Kawartha Lakes Weekly in a telephone interview that in a normal January, Kawartha Lakes typically gets 39 cm of snow. The 113 cm accumulation the region has received this January is three times what is normally expected, and several environmental factors have combined to not only create the record snowfall but to preserve it once it has fallen.

“We have had virtually no rain in January (to melt the snow),” Phillips began. “We have had only six mm of rain and it almost all came on Jan. 1. Since Jan. 1, we have only had seven days without snow.”

Phillips noted that there is currently 35 cm of snow sitting on the ground across the region. He said that the preservation of that snowpack has certainly been made possible by the fact that 24 of 31 days in January have been what meteorologists call “all freeze days” where the temperature is never above 0 degrees C giving the snow little opportunity to melt.

Phillips added that with average daily temperatures for January hovering between -8 C and -10 C, these “cool rather than cold days” have temperatures conducive for snow creation and accumulation.

“The warmer air mix is perfect for the production of snow,” Phillips said, “and helps create the winter wonderland we have right now.”

Phillips also made mention that typically Kawartha Lakes is not as impacted by lake effect storms like it has been in 2025.

“A combination of lake effect snows and Alberta clippers have created lots of snow and it has stayed,” Phillips said. “This is wind-driven snow. It is relentless, causing drifting, blowing and whiteouts in rural areas.”

The meteorologist said this January has been “pretty impressive” and that after “winter being cancelled last year,” residents across Ontario “have…a real winter again.”