‘Classic spring’ ahead
Weather Network says Atlantic Canada will see much nicer spring this year than in 2016
Spring is definitely in the air across Prince Edward Island. A meteorologist with The Weather Network says that while the Island will still see some snow this month those big blasts of winter that hit the province in February appear to be behind us.
“Things will remain a little unsettled for the next couple of weeks but hopefully not quite like what you saw in mid February,’’ Michael Carter said Tuesday as The Weather Network released its spring forecast.
P.E.I. has already experienced a taste of spring-like weather these past few days with temperatures nearly hitting double digits.
Carter said P.E.I. and the Atlantic provinces are in the midst of a transitional phase right now with spring-like weather. And it’s a trend that will continue.
And while there will be some days where the air is especially cool, the forecast doesn’t seem to point to any major blasts of arctic air.
“On the whole, I think the trend for this spring really is going to be good; kind of classic spring weather (but) with a lot of back and forth in the beginning.
“By the time we get later into the season, we really should see those milder conditions kind of take hold in a more persistent way.’’
Carter said that will be in stark contrast to last spring, which wasn’t all that mild. “Last year, we had some mild weather in March and then it really kind of went away and then we went into an arctic pattern for a lot of April and May. We really struggled to find mild temperatures across a lot of eastern Canada. This year, that’s not going to be the case.’’
Islanders also keep an eye on the calendar in March, the old in like a lamb and out like a lion thing. And then there’s always the possibility of that St. Patrick’s Day storm.
Carter said there doesn’t seem to be anything too serious, at least in the first 10 to 14 days of the month.
“There are going to be individual storms, individual days where it’s especially mild, but the overall trend for Atlantic Canada is looking really good for this spring.’’ Precipitation looks to be about normal for the region while temperatures are expected, for the most part, to reach a high of 1 C in March and climb to a high of 14 C in May.
“Overall, the trend in the spring is very warm. Even though we’re in a transitional season, regardless of what’s going on with big weather patterns, we’re going to see a warming trend through this spring.’’