After a sluggish and often chilly start to spring, May is poised to deliver the warm-up many Canadians have been eagerly awaiting — and nowhere is that more apparent than on the Prairies.
With just over two weeks to go until the May long weekend — the unofficial start of summer — forecasters are predicting that much of the West, especially Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, will see an early arrival of summer-like weather, offering a much-needed reprieve from the season’s earlier setbacks.
April saw cooler than average or near-seasonal temperatures for most of Canada, and the first few days of May haven’t been much different in eastern provinces. However, the Prairies are already bucking that trend. Early May is expected to deliver an extended stretch of above-seasonal warmth, with daytime highs commonly climbing into the 20s and even low 30s in some areas.
A strong ridge of high pressure is setting up over the western Prairies, and that’s going to give Saskatchewan a real taste of summer heading into the second week of May.
Although temperatures will remain variable at times, the general trend across the Prairies is for warmer-than-normal conditions to dominate through much of the month. Model forecasts show that the warmth will slowly expand eastward into northwestern Ontario, Quebec, and eventually Atlantic Canada as we approach mid-May.
Meanwhile, British Columbia and the Yukon are expected to see cooler-than-normal conditions persist, a trend that may help delay the wildfire season in the west. Western Canada is expected to see near-normal precipitation.
Classic Canadian Spring: Sunshine, Heat—and Snow?
While May often brings the first real taste of summer, Canadians know to never count winter out completely.
Spring snowfalls are no stranger to the Prairies, particularly in Alberta and southwestern Saskatchewan, where lingering cold fronts can combine with southern moisture to produce late-season storms. Calgary’s snowiest day on record — nearly 50 centimetres — occurred in May of 1981.
Still, with seasonal highs in cities like Winnipeg jumping from 12°C to 22°C over the course of the month, and Saskatoon often seeing stretches of 25°C or higher in late May, confidence is high that this year’s spring will end on a decidedly warm note.
In summary, spring will go out on a high note for most of Canada, but especially for the Prairies. Western Canada — from Calgary to Regina to Brandon — can look forward to multiple rounds of true summer-like weather.
Whether May brings heatwaves or the odd snowy surprise, Canadians are buckling up for the final push toward summer.