(MARSHALL JONES / iNFOnews.ca)

This past year did not see the record-breaking heat dome of 2021 or the atmospheric rivers that wiped out major highways in southern B.C. that fall.

Instead, 2022 was a year that looks to be, statistically, relatively normal but was far from it.

“This is one of those years when the summary statistics... don’t tell the whole story,” Environment Canada meteorologist Alyssa Charbonneau told iNFOnews.ca.

“If we go back to last winter, it was colder than normal and we saw that colder than normal spring continue across the Okanagan and Kamloops almost into the beginning of summer," she said.

“We had a little bit of a delayed start to summer, then, when it switched, it switched and we were warmer than normal through July onwards. Coming into October and November we still saw those warm temperatures persisting. Then, again, it switched and once we hit November and, especially December, it was much colder than normal.”

READ MORE: Record breaking October weather for Kamloops, Okanagan

It will take until next week before all of December’s numbers are crunched to determine if it was actually a record cold month, Charbonneau said.

There were days when cold temperature records were broken but the dramatic warming up in the past week may average out the statistics.

READ MORE: Cold records shattered in Kamloops and the Okanagan

This is the third of three consecutive La Nina winters, which generally bring colder weather. That proved to be the case last winter and this fall.

La Nina is expected to weaken in the new year with higher than normal temperatures forecast for January, especially during the week of Jan. 9 to 13.

“By February to April, there is a pretty good chance we will no longer be in La Nina,” Charbonneau said.

What will follow remains to be seen.

“Forecasting beyond five days always challenging,” she said.

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