REGINA -- If you didn’t notice, March decided we needed one last spring storm before it ended, but the sun is coming out and temperatures are warming back to seasonal for the last day of the month.
Yes, April is here already, and people might be hoping for a few April showers because – even with the storm – Regina has only seen about 10mm of precipitation in March, which is low compared to the climate normal of 19.7mm from 1981-2010. Many regions through southern Saskatchewan are very dry as well, and that means we will need to watch the fire risk over the coming weeks.
Now, it has not only been dry, but warm as well. The spring storm brought gusting conditions and snowfall behind a cold front, which plummeted temperatures below freezing for about 48 hours. But only 48 hours because the high temperature was below freezing on Tuesday for just the second time this month. The cold temperature is well below average since Regina typically sees 13.5 days below freezing in a climatological normal March.
The warm and dry conditions are back to welcome in April and say goodbye to March. Temperatures are soaring to and above seasonal after the cold air pushes out of the province and the pattern in the upper atmosphere changes. We see some high pressure and warm air pulling back into the province, so expect some conditions that are perfect for spending time outside – sunny and warm.
Over the next week, both Thursday and Sunday could see temperatures over 20 degrees through communities in southern Saskatchewan, including Swift Current and Moose Jaw. Regina is getting close, too, with an expected high of 15 degrees Thursday, followed by a 16 degree day on Sunday.
And that’s not saying temperatures are going on a rollercoaster either. Instead, there is only a variation of a few degrees over the next week, which will bring a stretch of warm, dry weather through southern Saskatchewan, once again.
