One doesn’t have to live on Prince Edward Island very long to realize that weather plays an important role in beginning a lot of conversations. By early March people start talking about the St. Patrick’s Day storm which is based on anecdotal evidence, and they will tell you that once we get this storm that winter in over as any snow after March 17th won’t last very long. Any snowstorm between March 10th and 20th is typically labelled as a St. Paddy’s Day storm which is named after the patron saint of Ireland who died about 461 supposedly on March 17th.
A search of available records has provided some interesting information about the frequency and occurrence of this Island tradition to confirm if this claim is based on solid fact.
Date | Storm Description | Source |
March 18, 1765 | Cloudy with snow, wind SSW | Samuel Holland |
March 18, 1836 | Snow from SSE. Wind changes to SW at 10am. | Daniel Hodgson |
March 18, 1843 | Still snows strong. Winds ENE. A good deal of snow falling. | Daniel Hodgson |
March 17, 1856 | Snowing some | Henry Cundall Diary |
March 17, 1857 | Raining and snowing | Henry Cundall Diary |
March 17, 1862 | Snowstorm continues from previous day. | L. C. Jenkins Diary |
March 16, 1866 | First thunder and lightning storm of the season, some thought it was a warning to the Fenians who were planning a raid to homes | Examiner, March 19, 1866 |
March 17, 1870 | A snowstorm started at 10:00am | Guardian, Jan. 30, 1952 |
March 17, 1872 | Major snowstorm, man named MacMillan died on ice on Hillsborough River. Stormed for 3 days. | Daily Examiner, Jan. 15, 1894 |
March 17, 1895 | Trains all delayed due to storm. No ice boat crossing. | Daily Examiner, March 18, 1895 |
March 17, 1896 | St. Patrick’s opened with a howling wind and snow, typical of St. Patrick’s | Impartial, March 26, 1896 |
March 17, 1901 | Snow on railway between Piusville & Elmsdale within 8 feet of the top of the telegraph posts | Guardian, March 18, 1901 |
March 18th, 1915 | 17.8 cm of snow at Charlottetown CDA. A total of 29.3 cm from 12th to 15th. | EC Historical Climate Data |
March 16-17th, 1916 | 35.5 cm of snow at Charlottetown CDA. On the 23rd and 24th an additional 71.5 cm . | EC Historical Climate Data |
March 15, 1918 | 17.8 cm of snow at Charlottetown CDA | EC Historical Climate Data |
March 14, 1923 | 17.8 cm of snow at Charlottetown CDA | EC Historical Climate Data |
March 19-20th, 1924 | 22.9 cm of snow over two days at Charlottetown | EC Historical Climate Data |
March 14-15th, 1925 | 25.4 cm of snow at Charlottetown CDA | EC Historical Climate Data |
March 19, 1930 | 12.7 cm of snow at Charlottetown CDA | EC Historical Climate Data |
March 18-19th , 1931 | 27.9 cm of snow at Charlottetown CDA | EC Historical Climate Data |
March 17, 1939 | The annual St. Patrick’s Day storm tied up potato and turnip movement. There was 30.5 cm of snow on the 13th and 2.5 cm on the 17th. | Guardian, March 18, 1939, EC Historical Climate data. |
March 17, 1943 | Customary St. Patrick’s Day Storm | Guardian, March 18, 1943 |
March 16, 1949 | Blizzard, no school, and very bad roads | WillScott Farm Diaries |
March 17, 1955 | A severe storm on St. Patrick’s Day covered the western part of PEI and made travelling impossible | Guardian, March 24, 1955 |
March 17, 1956 | PEI was blanketed with 10 inches (25 cm) of snow whipped by 35 mph NE winds bringing PEI to a standstill | Guardian, March 19, 1956 |
March, 1961 | A series of snowstorms 2 weeks prior to St. Patrick’s Day isolated many rural areas. 33.8 cm of snow from 14th to 17th at Charlottetown | Guardian, March 18, 2015. EC Historical Climate Data. |
March 18, 1963 | St Patrick’s Day play at Birchwood School in Charlottetown postponed due to storm. 38.3 cm of snow at Charlottetown CDA | Guardian, March 20, 1963. EC Historical Climate Data. |
March 18, 1964 | 19.1 cm of snow at Charlottetown CDA | EC Historical Climate Data |
March 11-17th, 1967 | A total of 59.4 cm of snow over this period | EC Historical Climate Data |
March 15, 1975 | There was 17.8 cm of snow at Charlottetown | EC Historical Climate Data |
March 17, 1976 | 22.7 cm of snow at Charlottetown | EC Historical Climate Data |
March 19, 1977 | 27.6 cm of snow at Charlottetown | EC Historical Climate Data |
March 17, 1978 | 8 cm of snow at Charlottetown | EC Historical Climate Data |
March 15, 1986 | 17.8 cm of snow at Charlottetown | EC Historical Climate Data |
March 16-17, 1987 | A ferocious 2-day snowstorm with 19 cm at Summerside, 31.3 cm at Charlottetown, and 31 cm Tignish. | Journal Pioneer, March 17, 1987; Guardian, March 18, 2015; EC Historical Climate Data. |
March 18, 1989 | There was 17.2 cm of snow at Charlottetown | EC Historical Climate Data |
March 17-18, 1993 | There was 28.4 cm of snow at Charlottetown | EC Historical Climate Data |
March 15-17, 1999 | There was 15.6 cm of snow at Charlottetown | EC Historical Climate Data |
March 17, 2000 | Winds of up to 100 kilometres-an-hour whipped over 21.6 centimetres of snow into whiteouts that made driving treacherous in Queens County. | Guardian, March 18, 2015. |
March 17, 2003 | 9.8 cm of snow at Charlottetown | EC Historical Climate Data |
March 13-16th, 2014 | An early St. Patrick’s Day storm was forecast to bring snow, blowing snow and ice pellets. A total of 47 cm of snow fell the 5 days leading up the St. Patrick’s Day | Guardian, March 13, 2014; EC Historical Climate Data. |
March 16, 2015 | From March 15th to 18th, over 74 cm of snow fell at Charlottetown | EC Historical Climate Data. |
March 17, 2020 | A snowfall of 7 cm at Charlottetown | EC Historical Climate Data |
The above table lists over 40 documented snowstorm events which happened on or within a few days of March 17th. David Ross of Marshfield describes a severe 4-day snowstorm from March 14-17, 1872 in his diary, which shut down transportation of all kinds. Other severe storms are listed including the years 1916, 1955, 1961, 1987, 2000 and 2015. This provides sufficient justification for the long-held tradition as these storms are frequent enough to refresh memories of past storms during the last week of the winter season when people have a heightened anticipation about warmer weather ahead and a strong desire to be done with winter. This tradition may be in jeopardy due to climate change as temperatures gradually rise and the winter season shortens.

