**** Info via Environment Canada
March temperature outlook
Today marks the beginning of meteorological spring! Let’s have a look our “temperature anomaly” map for the month of March, to see whether temperatures in your region will be below or above average.
The forecasts are categorized as follows:
- blue indicates the probability that temperatures will be below normal;
- grey to purple indicates the probability that temperatures will be near normal;
- yellow to red indicates the probability that temperatures will be above normal; and
- white indicates uncertainty regarding the temperature tendency this month.
*All categories are compared to the average of the 30 months of March between 1991 and 2020.
Forecasted temperature anomaly (difference from normal) for the month of March.
This map predicts the deviation from the average daily temperature at a height of two metres, but it doesn’t predict the highest or lowest daily temperatures. Long-range forecast user guide.
February overview
Temperatures were generally close to average across most Canada for the month of February, with some regions being slightly colder or warmer than usual. Specifically, the Prairies and southern British Columbia being a little colder and southern Ontario and Quebec being fairly warmer. Parts of Nunavut, northern Quebec and northern Labrador were the exception and had a cold February, with temperatures in some areas being five to six degrees below average.
Temperature anomaly (difference from normal) across Canada for the month of February.
There were large fluctuations in temperature throughout the month with long cold and warm spells, causing records for cold and warm to be broken. At the beginning of the month, very cold arctic air moved into the Prairies, spreading eastward and bringing some of the coldest temperatures of the year to many parts of the country. This cold air mass came with strong winds, creating extreme wind chills. The Maritimes saw many all-time wind chill records broken on February 4, with Halifax recording wind chills of -43 and Fredericton -45.
Temperatures rose once again well above normal starting around February 3-4 in western Canada and February 7-8 in the east. Cold air returned from the Arctic on February 18, first affecting the Prairies before spreading across the country and causing temperatures to drop well below average until the end of the month on both coasts.
