With snow disappearing quickly, a meteorologist from Environment Canada says temperatures can vary greatly from one community to the next.
Natalie Hasell says snow cover is a big factor when it comes to forecasting air temperature and varying amounts are making it difficult to get an accurate forecast.
“We typically don't see very warm temperatures if you still have snow on the ground but the moment it starts to melt, the moment that energy isn't going into the snow and melting it, sometimes we see the temperatures rise well above what we would normally expect to see. It is a tricky thing this time of year.”
Hasell says there are a few other factors at play as well and warm air can be brought into the area from elsewhere as systems move through.
For the time being, Hasell says we can expect more melting in the immediate future.
“We are expecting more precipitation starting tonight, more of it tomorrow and Friday. We are looking at temperatures above zero so that will be rain which will get rid of more of the snow, a little bit faster than just sunshine and wind. That’s good for temperature forecasts but not maybe great for road conditions or flooding.”
Following this very warm spell, Hasell says this will cool off somewhat this coming weekend.
“We will be back into a freeze-thaw cycle so temperatures during the day will be above zero and temperatures during the night will be below zero. That will slow the melt some and anything that does melt will re-freeze so again so road conditions could be quite difficult even if the weather itself is benign. It is really important for people to pay attention to how things are going around them.”