Close X
Tuesday, January 28, 2025
ADVT 
National

Spring Is Coming, But Winter Has 'a Little Bit Of Bite Left,' Forecaster Says

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 28 Feb, 2017 12:56 PM
    Despite unusually warm temperatures in parts of the country, a forecaster says bouts of late winter weather are expected for many through March, with more springlike temperatures to arrive by May.
     
    Chris Scott says The Weather Network spring forecast calls for Canadians to expect more storms before the wintry weather ends.
     
    Scott, chief meteorologist at The Weather Network, says the clash between warm weather coming up from the south and the fairly typical cold of Northern Canada will cause snow in March and rain in April and May.
     
    In concrete terms, he says that means residents of Western Canada have great conditions for skiing, people who live along Manitoba's Red River Basin should watch out for flooding and those in southern Ontario should keep their snow tires on.
     
    Residents of Quebec, the Atlantic provinces, Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut can expect near normal temperatures and precipitation this spring.
     
    Scott says it's a continuation of one of the strangest Canadian winters on record.
     
     
    "The weather patterns across Canada are pretty wild," said Scott.
     
    Some examples, he said, are snowstorms in Atlantic Canada, temperatures rising to the teens in southern Ontario and Quebec, and bigger snowbanks in Coquitlam, B.C., than in Toronto in February.
     
    One of the biggest factors affecting the winter weather are the unusually rapid shifts between El Nino, a climate cycle involving warmer-than-average waters in the Pacific Ocean, and La Nina, cooler-than-average waters in the same area.
     
    Even a small change in ocean temperatures will affect the amount of moisture in the air, which has an affect on the weather. Because El Nino and La Nina are located over wide swaths of the ocean, they can "change the overall weather patterns around the world," Scott said.
     
    Last year's El Nino was one of the strongest in history.
     
     
    A typical pattern would involve a switch to La Nina within a period of two to seven years. For that switch to occur in a matter of months is unprecedented.
     
    Scott said it has never happened before in the 75 years of recorded meteorological history.
     
    "Within one year we've gone from a super El Nino, very strong, and then a weak La Nina, and all of a sudden back to El Nino," he said. "The speed of that flip is something we haven't seen before."
     
    He added that winter has got "a bite left in it," but much of the country will welcome near or above seasonal temperatures by May.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Home Sales In Vancouver Dropped 5.6 Per Cent Last Year, Real Estate Board Says

    Home Sales In Vancouver Dropped 5.6 Per Cent Last Year, Real Estate Board Says
    The composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver, as measured by the Multiple Listing Service home price index, hit $897,600 in December.

    Home Sales In Vancouver Dropped 5.6 Per Cent Last Year, Real Estate Board Says

    Delta Police Report Foul Play Is Not Suspected In Discovery Of Human Remains

    DELTA, B.C. — Police in Delta say foul play is not suspected after human remains were found in the suburb south of Vancouver.

    Delta Police Report Foul Play Is Not Suspected In Discovery Of Human Remains

    Here's Why A Healthy Diet May Not Always Work

    Here's Why A Healthy Diet May Not Always Work
    People accustomed to a calorie-rich diet may not be able to reap the full benefits of switching to a healthy diet immediately due to the works of the bacterial community inside the gut, suggests new research.

    Here's Why A Healthy Diet May Not Always Work

    Calgary Police Allege Sunwing Pilot Was Impaired, Passed Out In Cockpit

    CALGARY — A Sunwing Airlines pilot faces charges after police allege he was impaired before takeoff.

    Calgary Police Allege Sunwing Pilot Was Impaired, Passed Out In Cockpit

    Snowmobiler Killed In Avalanche Near Valemount, B.C.

    VALEMOUNT, B.C. — Police say a snowmobiler has died after he was caught in an avalanche near Valemount, B.C.

    Snowmobiler Killed In Avalanche Near Valemount, B.C.

    Human Remains Found In UBC's Pacific Spirit Park

    Human Remains Found In UBC's Pacific Spirit Park
    VANCOUVER — Police say human remains have been discovered in a park near the University of British Columbia.

    Human Remains Found In UBC's Pacific Spirit Park