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Saint John smashes 52-year-old snowfall record

This winter beats Saint John's previous snowfall record of 424 centimetres by almost 50 centimtres and more snowfall is expected Saturday.

2015 winter snowfall beats previous record by almost 50 centimtres with more snow expected Saturday

CBC News ·
A microfiche at the Saint John Public Library shows an article about a late winter storm in 1963. This winter's snowfall in Saint John has already broken the 1963 record by almost 50 centimetres. (Matthew Bingley/CBC)

Saint John has officially broken a 52-year-old snowfall record this winter.

More than 470 centimetres of snow has fallen this winter, surpassing the record of 424 centimetres that was set in 1962-63.

Don Farrell was born in 1948 and remembered the historic winter of 1963. He said everything looked bigger, including the snow banks.

The John Hooper sculptures at the foot of King Street in Saint John, N.B. are partially covered after a winter of record snowfall for the city. (Matthew Bingley/CBC)
"The thing when you're young, is that you're a lot smaller," he said. "I remember all the winters back then as being much more snow because you're looking at it from a whole other angle."

Snow storms were front page news in newspaper articles from the time. Articles mentioned irritations like cars getting stuck.

The winter of 1963 had a late winter blast on March 19. But in a year with so much snow, the archives show only a few stories, unlike now.

 "From things I've seen on the news, radio, online, it seems to me that we seem to talk about weather a lot more," said reference librarian Sarah Gladwell at the Saint John Free Public Library

"Particularly bad weather."

CBC meteorologist Peter Coade said a storm on Saturday could bring another 15-20 centimetres of snow, mixed with rain.

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