Although the outlook for the remainder of the week is a little on the cold side, the long-range forecast is showing signs that winter could finally be releasing its grasp on the Moose Jaw area.
Environment and Climate Change Canada Meteorologist Steven Berg says that while temperatures are set to crest well into the double-digit positives by the weekend, we still have a little bit of chill to contend with.
“There is still a smattering of chances of flurries or rain and temperatures that are slightly below normal (until the weekend),” Berg explains.
“It’s looking like we are getting into the double digits by the weekend, and potentially much of next week. It doesn’t look all that promising for snow next week, but it’s hard to say whether there will be any other snow events this early spring, that’s a bit too far ahead for us to say for sure.”
As for the immediate forecast, Berg says that there is some precipitation coming to the Moose Jaw area today, although it’s not likely to be widespread.
“You'd end up getting a little bit of cumulus development, which might include some spots of rain. It doesn't look like it would be much of an accumulation anywhere if it did happen.”
“Maybe a couple of millimeters or something like that, but it's really hard to say. It's only a 30 per cent chance too. The chances aren't very high, and it might be quite sporadic in the area.”
Berg mentions that whatever does land in the region isn’t likely to linger, as the above-freezing daytime temperatures will likely cause the moisture to evaporate before the overnight freeze.
As the weekend approaches things are set to change drastically, with sunshine in the forecast until at least the beginning of next week. With that sunshine comes a rapid warm-up, reaching highs of 11 degrees on both Saturday and Sunday, with the mercury shooting up to a forecasted 19 degrees by Monday.
While 19 degrees is a little over double the normal daily maximum for this time of year, we aren’t likely to be breaking any weather records according to Berg.
“For the for the next week period, it doesn't look like records are in any danger of being broken. But who knows, maybe there'll be a little bit of a spike one day and you'll get into the top five.”
He notes that the current records for April are well into the mid-20's and above, pointing specifically to a daytime high of 31 degrees above zero as the current record holder for April 13th as an example.