Snow on Friday May 20, 2016 set a one day record for Fort St. John.
Snow on Friday May 20, 2016 set a one day record for Fort St. John.
The month of May has again lived up to its weather reputation in this region with record one day snowfall and precipitation amounts on Friday pushing monthly totals well past the norms.

The local airport weather station posted 19.4 centimetres of snow on Friday, and along with 1.2 millimetres of rain, that lifted the precipitation total to 20.6 millimetres.

The previous May 20th records were 18.8 millimetres of precipitation and only 1.6 centimetres of snow.

In addition when the Friday numbers were added to those posted Thursday, it resulted in two day snowfall and precipitation totals of 20.2 centimetres and 33.2 millimetres.

The latter was more than three and half times the amount of precipitation recorded at the airport station in the previous 18 days of this month, and it left the year-to-date total at 44.7 millimetres, nearly seven more than the May norm of 37.9.

Three of the first four months of 2016, have resulted in below average precipitation amounts, which together are 25 millimetres less than their collective average.

However, when you now add to the total, the 44.7 millimetres posted so far this month, and the 37.1e recorded in March, it leaves the amount for the first five months of the year, only six millimetres below the norm.

In addition, local airport records show a precedent for much more, since Friday is the 37th anniversary of the areas' heaviest ever one day May rainfall post, of 49.8 millimeters, in 1979.