Environment Canada expecting mixed bag for Sask. in March

David Phillips has seen March come in like a lion and go out like a lamb many times.

And sometimes it doesn’t.

“I’ve seen as many the other way — and sometimes it comes in like frozen mutton,” Environment Canada’s senior climatologist said on Tuesday’s Greg Morgan Morning Show.

This March is going to feature a little bit of everything in Saskatchewan.

“ ‘Patience’ is the operative word,” Phillips said. “We’re not going to see the relentless kind of cold that we saw in January and February …

“What we’re seeing in March is sort of like one week where, ‘Hey, it’s not so bad,’ and then it kind of warms up. And then winter comes back. It’s sort of a back-and-forth, very changeable kind of March.”

Phillips said Saskatchewan will see precipitation this month, although the early forecast doesn’t show heavy amounts of snow.

“From March 1 on, we think, ‘OK, now we’re finished with winter,’ but about 30 per cent of your annual snowfall (in the province) still comes after March 1,” Phillips said.

“It’s not over. You can’t put away the snow shovel quite yet.”

Phillips said January and February in Saskatchewan were “relentless,” with heavy snow and bitterly cold temperatures and wind chills. He doesn’t see similar days ahead in March as the sun gets higher in the sky and people can feel more of its heat.

That said, the real turnaround is still a few weeks away.

“If we look at the entire spring of March-April-May, we see it really taking off in April and May,” Phillips said. “I think you have to be a little bit more patient (for) another month of it.

“Enjoy the longer days, but we still see some snow and some cold — but not those kind of double-digit negative values in the afternoon.”