Residents eager to get outside now that spring is finally here
The sun is shining, the birds are chirping and tee times are up for grabs.
Spring is (finally) here.
The week ahead looks mostly sunny in Calgary, according to Environment Canada’s forecast, which anticipates temperatures of 21 C or higher on Tuesday and Thursday to Saturday.
“We have a pretty good stretch coming,” said meteorologist Terri Lang. “There’s a little bit of a blip on Wednesday as a cold front whistles through, so we might see some cloud and wind associated with that, plus a dip in temperatures. Aside from that, it’s looking really nice.”
Average temperatures for this time of year, according to data from the last three decades, include highs of about 13 degrees and lows around zero.
The warm weather is welcome news to public golf courses like Fox Hollow, which opened up for the season on Monday morning.
“It’s booked solid all week. Everybody’s raring to go,” said head golf pro Greg Griffith.
He said the course is about two weeks behind schedule for opening day, thanks to an unusually cold and snowy winter that extended into early spring.
“We always open up on temporary greens if we can, but we didn’t this year. There was just too much snow, too much water this year,” said Griffith. “The phone hasn’t stopped ringing. People just want to get outside. We’ve all been stuck inside too long this winter.”
The City of Calgary’s athletic parks — used for summer sports like baseball, football and soccer — are also late to open this year, causing delays for leagues that ordinarily would have already begun play by now.
Most of them remain closed, with no firm opening date set due to varying levels of snow still present, according to Greg Dycke, superintendent of operations in the north and east regions of the city.
He said the parks will open on a case-by-case basis as ongoing conditions improve, which Calgarians can monitor online on the city’s website.
“Let’s be honest; everybody’s itching to get outside right now,” said Dycke. “We usually have everything up and running and ready to go on April 15. There’s no question that leagues plan around that opening date, as do we with our staffing. So, it’s definitely tough on everyone.”
He said he can’t remember the city ever experiencing a challenge with fields being ready for April 15.
“It’s definitely caused a little disruption,” Dycke said.
Despite this week’s reprieve, southern Alberta is not out of the woods yet. Next Sunday and Monday could see a weather system move in, causing rain or even a bit of snow. There’s also a possibility cold air could return to the region some time within the next month.
As for this week, however, “finally, we’ve got some nice weather,” said Lang. “I think people should get out and get some lawn work done; maybe get out on the golf course and really enjoy it.”