As tall as a giraffe: Snow total nears record levels in Canadian city
Mother Nature has dumped more than 460 centimetres of snow on Orillia, Ont., in the 2024-25 winter season so far––the approximate equivalency to the height of an adult giraffe
While February has been a turning point in the snowfall amounts for major southern Ontario cities this winter, it's just been another month of hefty totals for a small community that continues to rack up impressive accumulations this season.
Orillia, Ont., located in one of Ontario's snowbelt regions, just east of Georgian Bay and nestled in between two smaller-sized bodies of water, is experiencing one of its snowiest winters on record-- thanks to a parade of lake-effect snow squall events.
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For starters, this month is the city's snowiest February on record with at least 180.8 centimetres (cm) recorded as of Feb. 18, easily surpassing the amount documented in 2007 (140.8 cm). It's just shy of its snowiest month ever, with that title belonging to December 1878 (196.9 cm).
As of Feb. 18, there was 115 cm of snowfall on the ground in Orillia, enough to set a new record. However, the total has decreased a fair amount since then and will likely continue to drop as a result of the mild temperatures since Sunday.
The Orillia giraffe-snow comparison graphic. (Tyler Hamilton/The Weather Network)
On top of that, it has recorded at least 461 cm of snowfall in the 2024-25 winter so far––as of Feb. 18–– the third-highest amounts for the Sunshine City, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) data.
In other words, the accumulation Orillia has seen is approximately equivalent to the height of a fully grown giraffe. When converted, 461 centimetres is roughly equal to just more than 15 feet (4.57 metres), a size that falls within the scale of adult giraffes (14-18 feet or 4.26 metres to 5.48 metres), according to PBS.
While ECCC data indicates at least 461 cm of snowfall has been recorded thus far, the City of Orillia suggested a slightly smaller amount has fallen to date (455 cm).
Regardless, with plenty of time still for snowfall to occur, there is a chance for this season to claim the No. 2 or No. 1 spot. As it stands, the city's snowiest winter occurred in 1995-96 (490.3 cm), followed by the 1874-75 season (478 cm).
Jan. 2, 2025 snow squall in Orillia, Ont. (Nathan Howes/The Weather Network)
Due to the higher-than-normal snowfall amounts this winter, the City of Orillia has enhanced its winter control operations, adding new clearing equipment to its arsenal and increasing its 2024-25 budget for removal services.
The aforementioned numbers go as far back to when snowfall records began in May 1871.
How does Orillia's total compare to some of Canada's ski resorts?
When looking at Orillia's noteworthy totals so far this winter, how do they compare with some of Canada's renowned ski resorts?
With at least 461 cm of snow documented this winter, it holds up fairly well when examining popular ski destinations such as Marmot Basin Ski Resort in Alberta (180 cm as of Feb. 18) and Big White Ski Resort (389 cm as of Feb. 18) in British Columbia.
Breaking down Orillia's more than 460 cm of snowfall this winter, the city has seen 16 days of accumulations that have exceeded 10 cm, seven days of totals surpassing 20 cm, three days above 30 cm and one day of an amount that exceeded 40 cm.
What has been behind the mammoth snowfall amount this season?
Most of Orillia's snowfall has came from persistent rounds of lake-effect snow squalls since the end of November 2024, a little later than usual for when that type of activity begins to take off in the snowbelt regions of Ontario.
Lake-effect snow squalls occur as cold air sweeps in over the ice-free Great Lakes in early late fall and early winter in the wake of a major storm system. The cold, dry air picks up moisture from the relatively warm lakes, continues over the land, and dumps the moisture as snow.
WATCH: Giraffe-high snow totals accumulated in Ontario city
Other snowbelt locales such as Gravenhurst, Bracebridge, Barrie, Kincardine and Owen Sound have also reported hefty totals from multiple lake-effect snowfall events through this winter so far.
Orillia, Ont., snowbanks captured on Feb. 22, 2025. (Nathan Howes/The Weather Network)
With the bout of frigid-cold temperatures in recent weeks, that means Georgian Bay has almost frozen over completely––helping to cut off the primary source of its lake-effect snowfall this season.
Lake Huron, another source of its lake-effect, has not frozen over fully, but has seen a noticeable increase in ice cover because of the recent cold.
On Feb. 23, 34.2 per cent of the Great Lakes was covered by ice, with an average of 40.5 per cent. It peaked at 52.2 per cent earlier this month, the highest coverage since 2022. Lake Huron was sitting at 45 per cent, as of a few days ago, considerably down from the 71.1 per cent coverage from earlier this month––the greatest percentage of ice on it since 2019.
With the surge of ice cover on Lake Huron and Georgian Bay, the lake-effect machine should begin to wind down over the coming weeks as a lack of open water will shut it down, especially for Orillia. But the excessive snowfall this winter may lead to another problem come the spring and warmer temperatures: Flooding.
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With files from Tyler Hamilton, Matt Grinter and Mark Robinson, meteorologists at The Weather Network, and Dennis Mersereau, a digital journalist and weather specialist at The Weather Network.