First Snowfall Contest 2020

Snow on November 2! We have a winner!

By about 9:00 PM November 2, enough snow accumulated to cover the grass at Parliament Hill. Congratulations to Aly S-N for being the closest guess to the 1st snowfall! 2nd place goes to Don Fugler, and 3rd place to Sheila Kealey (who actually helped coordinate the contest so she'll donate her prize to the uOttawa Nordiq ski team!).

Thanks to all who entered and making it the most popular contest to date! Thanks also to Apogee Sports for donating the prizes.

October 28 - another sprinkling of snow!

Another bit of snow, and visible with the Parliament Hill Cam! Here's a photo from 8:45 AM (the most accumulation this morning), and it still doesn't meet the 1st snow standards - an observable accumulation that creates a white covering of snow on the grass (with no or almost no grass poking through!).

You can also check this site, which stores pictures of the webcam every hour, and consider following Kyle Smith or Ottawa Weather Records on Twitter - who share our appreciation for all things snow!

October 26 - A sprinkling of snow, but not enough!

Were your eyes peeled to the use the Parliament Hill Cam? Ours were! While we loved seeing the snow fly, it didn't meet our definition of 1st snow (see webcam photo from 10:30 AM) - an observable accumulation that creates a white covering of snow on the grass (with no or almost no grass poking through!).

The Predictions Are In - Who Will Win?

Thanks for entering our 1st snowfall contest! It's nice to know that a lot of people are excited about that first blanket of snow. This has been the most popular contest in 14 years with 182 entries!

All of the votes are listed to the right, and sadly some of the optimists are already out of the running . . .

Keep your fingers crossed, do your snowdance for that 1st blanket of snow on the ground!

The person whose prediction is closest to the actual date/time of the first observable accumulation wins.

We have prizes for the top 3 closest guesses thanks to Apogee-Sports!

Let the snow fly!

First Snowfall Contest 2020 By Date Web

We're excited to partner with XC Ottawa for the 14th edition of the First Snowfall Contest and bring you great prizes from Apogee-Sports!

Do you answer 'YES' to any of these questions . . .

Are you an amateur weather prognosticator?

Are you anticipating your first ski of the season with excitement?

Can you smell snow in the air before it falls?

Are you addicted to the weather channel?

Do you know all the most recent weather related trivia from Environment Canada?

We have a contest for you!

Be the first person to correctly predict when our region will get the first snowfall of the ski season. Beyond prestige, Apogee-Sports is donating some terrific prizes.

Twist for 2020 - We're looking for snow on Parliament Hill!

While previous editions of the contest have used the XC Ottawa webcam in the Gatineau Park, we will use the Parliament Hill Cam. So that even if there is snow in the Gatineau Park first, you can keep obsessing and get excited for when you'll be able to ski on the growing network of Winter Trails in our city (the SJAM Winter Trail, Rideau River Trail, Ski Heritage East, Britannia Winter Trail, Mooney's Bay/Terry Fox Athletic Facility and Wesley Clover Park in Kanata). The person whose prediction is closest to the actual date/time of the first observable accumulation wins. To clarify, observable accumulation will be white covering of snow on the grass.

Contest Rules

Who may enter: The contest is open to anyone, amateur and professional meteorologists alike. In fact if you are a professional meteorologist we dare you to make a prediction!

Judging. To make it easy to officiate and have a permanent record of the first snowfall, the Parliament Hill webcam will be the judge! This also allows all of us snow obsessed skiers to watch the 'action' live all day long. The person whose prediction is closest to the actual date/time of the first observable accumulation wins. First observable accumulation means the snow has to stick to the Parliament Hill lawn and we should be able to see some sort of white blanket cover.

Prizes. It's all about the prestige, but the top 3 closest guesses will win a prize from Apogee-Sports!

Do I have to live in the Ottawa-Gatineau Region? No! In fact we'd love to see entries from across Canada and get really excited if people living outside of Canada care when we get snow!

We will be publishing your name and prediction so if you are not keen on that this might not be the contest for you.

PRIZES FROM APOGEE-SPORTS

Thanks Apogee-Sports for donating prizes for this year's contest!

Puffy Jacket

Helmet

XC Ski Gloves!

Please note - although we are excited to get contest entries from outside the Ottawa-Gatineau region, you will need to pick up your prize in Ottawa (or designate the task to an Ottawa-based friend!).

Apogee is a Quebec-based company dedicated to team-sport apparel, and they have crafted a niche making custom designed clothing for small (or large) teams. uOttawa Nordiq ski suits and warmups are from Apogee Sport. You can read about how we chose our suit here. Apogee also makes top-quality sports clothing for cycling, speed skating, downhill skiing, triathlon and running.

Apogee COVID Masks

Apogee also makes some of the most comfortable and best-fitting COVID masks around! Cloth face coverings are more environmentally friendly than disposable masks you can wash and dry these quickly.

So protect yourself and others in style and comfort - check them out here.

How to Enter

Fill out this form before midnight Sunday, Oct. 25. Only 1 guess per person (like 28/11/2020 at 06:45).

Tell your friends! Challenge your mother! Good luck!

Statistically minded? Check out Steffan Lloyd's tips and stats on how to approach this contest

Probability of Snow by Date

Probability of 1st Snowfall & Guess Distribution

Results from past contests

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