The spring melt seems to have started across much of Saskatchewan. (Mat Barrett/northeastNOW Staff)

By Mat Barrett

Warm Weather

After record cold February, mercury starting to rise in Saskatchewan

Mar 15, 2019 | 2:02 PM

The polar vortex that seemed to blanket Saskatchewan for much of February seems to be behind us.

Daytime highs for the next week seem to be in the above zero range, which means the snow is going to start melting. However, the warm up does take a bit longer at this time of year according to Environment Canada’s Terri Lang.

“Issue is, we still have a lot of snow on the ground,” Lang told northeastNOW. “So it takes a bit for it to warm up as much as we would like it to, just until we get rid of a lot of the snow.”

Lang also said that we shouldn’t really see the cold spell return because once the polar vortex retreats back to the Arctic, it is very difficult for it to return. She said it is possible, but the forecast does not see that much of a dip in the temperatures. While the cold may be behind us, snow may not be out of the question quite yet.

Badminton Provincials

Nipawin locals claim hardware during badminton provincials on home court

22h ago

Sports

Bedard's three-point effort leads Canada past Denmark 5-1 at hockey worlds

May 12, 2024

Wildfires

Fort McMurray under evacuation alert due to out-of-control wildfire nearby

May 11, 2024

“We can always expect snow through March, even into April,” Lang said. “In fact, we tend to get our heaviest snowfalls in the spring and in the fall. That’s because there is a bit more moisture available for these weather systems. There’s also more energy because we have more sunshine to fuel the system.”

The reasoning for the drastic change over about a week has been the weather patterns finally changing. Lang said the jet stream was the big reasoning for the cold, and the reason why the mercury has risen.

“The jet stream changed it’s position,” Lang said. “It’s sort of the delineator between the warm air and the cold air, and of course we’ve been on the cold side of that jet stream for weeks on end. It finally sort of drifted away and we’re starting to see a big upper ridge take place over western Canada.”

Lang also stressed the fact that temperatures still drop below zero overnight, leading all the snow that melted during the day, to freeze at night. That can lead to some icy-conditions on the roads.

–

mat.barrett@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @matbarrett6