Hint of summer or winter flashback? Canada's April 2022 forecast
April has a history of delivering both a hint of summerlike weather and high-impact snow and ice storms to Canada. Here’s what you can expect for the month ahead.
What does April mean to you? For many Canadians, we are looking forward to the first spring flowers and blossoms. Meanwhile, many others are just looking forward to seeing bare ground again for the first time in many months.
Regardless of where you live, April is a changeable month that is capable of delivering a brief hint of summer and it is a month that can feel more like late winter at times. In fact, April has a history of delivering high-impact snow and ice storms across most of Canada.
What can we expect from April 2022? Please read on for more details. But first, here is a quick look back at what we saw during March.
Once again March lived up to its reputation of being a tumultuous month. Many places saw both unusual and even record-breaking warmth and also high-impact winter weather.
While spring has already tested our patience at times, the temperature anomaly map below shows that across most of Canada the temperature swings actually tipped to the warm side of normal during March. The various shades of orange highlight warmer-than-normal temperatures.
A CHANGEABLE PATTERN FOR EARLY APRIL
As we look ahead to April, we expect that the turbulent pattern will continue. While the longer days and higher sun angle will continue their attempt to move us along towards summer, winter is still reluctant to fully release its grip on most of Canada.
It is difficult to draw a pattern map with such a changeable pattern, but here is the pattern that we expect will dominate through early April.
Back and forth temperature swings are expected to tip to the warm side of normal across most of Atlantic Canada and across the Prairies. However, as we progress through the second week of April, we are watching the potential for a period of much colder weather to spread from west to east across the Prairies.
Meanwhile, across B.C. and the Yukon, we expect that temperatures will tip to the cool side of seasonal, but we will see some warmer days mixed in. A couple more shots of chilly weather are also expected for Ontario and Quebec, though not nearly as cold as what we saw during the final weekend of March.
PATTERN CONTINUES FOR MID AND LATE APRIL
As we look ahead to mid and late April, we do not expect major changes to the pattern.
However, the focus of the shots of colder weather will shift a little further to the west, so the Prairies should end up close to normal for the month as a whole. And, as residents of the Prairies know all too well, a normal spring usually includes some unwelcome late winter-like weather. But, on a positive note, "normal" climbs by roughly two degrees per week across the region during April.
B.C. and the Yukon are expected to continue to tip to the cool side of normal with above normal precipitation expected for much of the region. This should result in an extended spring ski season for many ski areas.
Ontario and Quebec will continue to struggle to see any consistent warm weather, but we do expect a few days of much warmer weather during the second week of April. However, a cooler pattern is expected to return for the second half of the month. Of course "normal" temperatures will continue to climb by nearly two degrees per week, so while it is unlikely that the April will tease us with any early summer-like warmth, we will see warmer weather at times as the month progresses. We also expect above-normal precipitation across the region.
Across Atlantic Canada, the back and forth temperature swings should tip to the warm side of seasonal. However, we should not be surprised if a mild April still includes a brief flashback to winter. An active pattern is also expected with above normal precipitation totals across the region.
