Warmer than normal summer likely after punishing winter, says climatologist

Former Environment Canada senior climatologist Dave Phillips discusses the one-year anniversary of the ice storm and what kind of spring and summer we’ll get.

After a long, harsh winter, many residents across Simcoe County are wondering when spring will finally arrive, and according to former Environment Canada senior climatologist Dave Phillips, there’s some good news on the way.

Phillips joined CTV Barrie on Wednesday afternoon to talk about the turbulent weather and what we can expect for the months ahead.

Winter held its grip

“We’ve had a tough winter, everybody knows that,” Phillips said. “It started very warm in the fall. We went from almost sweat to slush.”

From there, winter seemed to tighten its grip and refused to let go.

“Every one of these (winter) months had more snow than normal and colder than normal,” he explained. “I’ve never seen in my 25 years such a consistent kind of cold.”

The past couple of weeks have been difficult, with many people around the region feeling frustrated and worn down by the constant cold.

“The last two weeks, people feel down in the dumps and miserable about the weather; they are justified,” Phillips said. “In those 14 days, 13 had some snow. Only two were warmer than normal. Mother Nature has been very unkind to us.”

Write off the rest of March

As for March, “Forget March. We’re going to write it off,” he said.

Looking ahead to April, there are signs of reprieve. Phillips said the region should start seeing more seasonable temperatures beginning next week, with a stretch of about seven to eight days of normal spring weather.

He describes it as the perfect “maple syrup weather,” with temperatures warming during the day and freezing at night.

Climatologist shares summer predictions

Then, by mid-April, a more noticeable shift is expected. “About mid-April around the 13th to 15th, warm air is going to arrive,” Phillips predicted.

While he mentioned that winter could still briefly return, the overall trend points toward melting snow and a gradual move into spring.

“People can go to the garden centre. Maybe do some window shopping,” he said. “The snow is going to melt.”

“And there’s even better news,” he added before he left the CTV Barrie studio.

Phillips said early indications suggest summer will be warmer than normal, something many residents could likely welcome after a stubborn winter.