Cool spring forecast for Prairies
HOWEVER, A WARM TO HOT SUMMER IS LIKELY
Enjoying the snow? We could be facing a cool, snowy spring.
That’s the scenario laid out this week by experts at The Weather Network.
While some areas in Ontario — now coping with floods — are already feeling the warmth, spring may be delayed across Western Canada.
Forecasters are calling for colder than-normal weather across the Prairies through March and into early April. And with temperatures lower than usual, snowfall could be higher.
But that could alleviate soil moisture concerns, forecasters add. Some areas that experienced a dry summer last year have also seen lower-than-normal snowfall over the months since.
In southern Alberta, however, repeated snowstorms through the winter may have improved the region’s water prospects.
“Snowpack is extremely localized,” points out meteorologist Michael Carter.
But the cold weather is more pervasive, and Carter says weather across much of the Prairies has been “persistently, bitterly cold” for longer than usual.
March will see some improvement, Carter says, but winter will linger.
“We’ll have hints that spring is around the corner,” he expects. “But March is rarely a spring-like month.”
Even so, Carter says, Lethbridge residents will likely enjoy more hints than people in Calgary or farther north.
Consistent spring weather will be delayed over much of British Columbia as well, meteorologists say. Cooler weather could prevail through the first six weeks, until the start of April. “They’ll be very similar to Alberta.” On the positive side, that could extend the ski season throughout the B.C. Interior, and delay the start of the province’s fire season.
Looking further ahead, The Weather Network is expecting warm and dry conditions across the Prairies as summer approaches. A “warm to hot summer” is likely for most of North America, it adds.
Weather patterns could be similar to those prevailing last summer, when Atlantic Canada as well as the west recorded highs that topped the typically hot and humid cities of Ontario and Quebec.
For travellers, more detailed predictions are posted online at www.theweathernetwork.com.