REGINA — Regina residents won’t have to wait too much longer for spring-like temperatures.
Environment Canada is predicting warmer-than-average temperatures for the month of March.
“Maybe one or two degrees above normal. So a little bit warmer than you should usually expect normally [in Regina],” said Brian Proctor, meteorologist with Environment Canada.
Over the next week, Regina will see several daytime highs above 0 C, but Proctor said you shouldn’t be fooled that winter is coming to an end.
“The possibility of cold air coming into the province at times and sort of affecting southern Saskatchewan through March is plausible.”
Proctor said the Prairies commonly receive cold air from the east side of the Rocky Mountains.
“That's our biggest weather maker to be sort of reflected as it moves from the winter towards spring.”
Historically, Regina has seen temperatures of roughly -30 C overnight early in March, around the 2010s.
“We really saw significantly cold temperatures in 2011 and 2009 when temperatures were -27.1 [C] and -27.9 [C] for minimum temperatures on those days,” said Proctor.
As the calendar changes to March, Proctor noted the Prairies will go through a quick transition from winter to spring to summer.
“We see our biggest snowfalls are in that sort of March-April period on the Canadian prairies and then rapidly thereafter, really converting very, very quickly to almost summer directly.”
As for when spring-like temperatures will descend on Regina, Proctor expects that in late March or early April.
