THUNDER BAY — Environment Canada says to expect the usual mix of disparate weather for the Northwest over the next couple of months.
March 20 marks the official start of spring this year, but meteorologist Trudy Kidd said the weather and the calendar don’t always agree.
“I guess we could say it's the end of winter,” she said, adding that just because “the calendar says it's the end of winter doesn't mean that's the way we're going to have the rest of the weather ahead.”
She said to expect the usual “roller coaster ride,” this year.
If, so far in March, it has seemed that spring sprung early, Kidd said March has been slightly warmer than normal for much of Northwestern Ontario.
Good news for those who are done with winter’s colder temperatures, but it isn’t expected to last she said. The rest of the month will either be close to normal or below.
“When all is said and done, the last 10 days (of March) will likely end up near normal for much of Northwestern Ontario, particularly along the Minnesota and Manitoba (borders),” she said. “But it's more likely that, the more north you move, the … colder than normal it'll be.”
As for precipitation, that’s largely been normal or slightly above, except for areas closer to the Manitoba border, where conditions have been drier, she said. Looking ahead until the end of the month, she said to expect near-normal conditions.
“We don't really have any strong signals one way or the other,” Kidd said.
Forecasting with certainty beyond a seven-day period, she said can be difficult, particularly around precipitation, so Kidd reminded people not to get too fooled by early warming conditions and snow melt.
“It's not unusual for Thunder Bay to have snow in May,” she said. “So, that's important to keep in mind because you kind of get teased by the warm weather and once the snow starts to melt, it's not usually over.”
Kidd also reminded that those storms can bring different and mixed types of precipitation, such as rain, snow, or freezing rain, when they do occur — meaning that residents should be prepared for anything.
As for larger climatological phenomena, such El Nino and La Nina, Kidd said we’re in a neutral state there right now — and even so, their influence on weather in Ontario and points east generally isn’t as strong as areas closer to the Pacific Ocean.
“There's so many different climatological factors that play into our weather,” she said.
“I think that's why often we see such fluctuating conditions within one month or within one week, and spring often throws people for a loop.”
