Winter hasn’t had its last word, according to MétéoMédia, which is forecasting a snowy or rainy spring for much of the eastern part of the country.
The road to summer conditions will be “long” and “winding” in Quebec and Ontario, according to The Weather Network.
“We don’t think winter will end early. We’ll still have opportunities for snow in March and April,” and “with the anticipated dissipation of La Niña and a return of El Niño during the summer, the transition from winter to summer should be laborious in 2026,” meteorologist André Monette explained to The Canadian Press.
“The presence of a cold anomaly in the Canadian Prairies and warmth in the southern United States favored an active corridor over Ontario and Quebec,” the meteorologist explained.
It is this “confrontation between hot and cold” that will likely cause more precipitation than normal over the Great Lakes basin towards Quebec.
With “a trajectory of systems that favour” Ontario and Quebec, “a few snowstorms are still possible in the first half of spring,” according to André Monette.
In Quebec, the weather service is therefore forecasting an amount of precipitation “above normal, except for the north and east of the province which will be close to normal” in the coming weeks.
With the high possibility of heavy rainfall, the flood season will be something to watch.
“If the snow melts quickly, it could cause flooding, so it’s something we’re monitoring, the risk at the moment is moderate,” Monette emphasized.
Temperatures close to seasonal norms
Still in Quebec, MétéoMédia expects temperatures to be “near normal” in the coming weeks, except for the west of the province, which will be below normal, and the north of the province, which will be above normal.
In Ontario, spring temperatures will likely be below normal, except for the southeastern part of the province, which will be close to normal.
“On occasion, some significant heat waves will reach the Windsor-Quebec corridor, allowing for a bit of a break,” but “these periods of early summer heat will be short-lived,” according to a statement released by MétéoMédia on Wednesday.
In the Atlantic provinces, the number of coastal storms “should not be abundant,” according to André Monette.
“The Maritimes will be more sheltered from cold air outbreaks during the spring.” Temperatures will be “near normal” and the amount of precipitation is not expected to exceed the seasonal average.
A cooler than normal spring is forecast for the western Canadian provinces, with the exception of British Columbia, where temperatures will be closer to normal.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
