As much of Eastern Canada braces for the third winter storm in three weeks, Environment Canada is reassuring Canadians that spring is on its way.
With the exception of the recent storms, Senior Climatologist Dave Phillips said this winter has been relatively mild, thanks to a "super" El Nino weather pattern.
"It's been balmy from one coast to the other," the climatologist told CTV News Channel.
Now, as El Nino begins to die down, Phillips said the environmental agency is continuing to forecast above-average temperatures in the coming months.
Phillips said Environment Canada expects unseasonably warm temperatures through March, April and May in most of the country, except for in Labrador and Northern Quebec.
"We're showing the conditions for spring as being warmer than normal," he said. "The personality, temperature-wise, is going to be downright balmy."
But that doesn't mean that Tuesday's storm will be the last of Canadians' winter woes.
"In parts of … Eastern Canada, about 20 per cent of your annual snowfall occurs after the first of March," he said. "We're going to ease into it. We're not going to go from slush to sweat, but clearly we can see spring is not too far away."
The Weather Network is also calling for a "warm spring from coast to coast" in most of Canada. In Newfoundland and Labrador, northern Quebec, and Nunavut, however, the network predicts "near normal" temperatures.
The network is forecasting stormy weather in Eastern Canada in March, and periods of wet weather in B.C. throughout the month.
In mid-to-late spring, the networks expects above seasonal temperatures, wet weather in B.C., and drier-than-normal weather in the Great Lakes region.
