It’s not the wet summers. It’s not the long, cold, snowy winters. It’s not the all too short autumn. All of those mean an adjustment to life on the prairies if you weren’t born here. But it’s an adjustment you can make.

Winter has chinooks. Summer has a sky that goes on for lifetimes. Autumn is still pretty, though limited to but a few weekends of bursting gold.

Those 3 are manageable. It’s the 4th that I have yet to appreciate. Spring on the prairies is the season that hurts the most. While friends across Canada share February and March blooms, on the prairies, flowers don’t bloom until Mother’s Day (if you’re lucky).

Spring on the prairies is a tough season to live through. Instead of a grand gesture to signal the end of winter, we get a few false starts. March is the snowiest month of the year on the prairies, after all. Just when you think you’re done with it, another bushel falls from the sky.

From first spring bike rides, to Easter Egg hunting, to Cinco de Mayo celebrations, you always have to plan for .. snow (but hey, it keeps the beer cold).

“Don’t plant your garden until after May long weekend,” we are constantly warned. Plant before then, well, you’ll find yourself scurrying to protect your plants from the one final May/June snowfall. Yes, I said June.

Will this be the year that all changes? Is this the year we’ll get to camp on May Long Weekend and celebrate a start to summer instead of one more punch from Old Man Winter?

You can’t look to a groundhog for the answer, check out The Weather Network’s 2017 Spring Forecast:

“We’re entering uncharted territory this spring, making this Spring Forecast particularly challenging as the Pacific Ocean water temperature trends are incredibly unique,” said Chris Scott, Chief Meteorologist at The Weather Network. “The most recent El Niño in 2016 was one of the strongest on record and to have another developing El Niño occur so soon is something we haven’t seen in the past 75 years.”

Western Canada will be prone to more frequent dips into late winter weather through March and early April before more typical spring weather sets in. This is good news for skiers and snowboarders who will get to enjoy an extended ski season. 

Will we need to pack the parkas for a Mother’s Day visit to see Thomas The Train? I hope not. But probably.

How does your region’s 2017 Spring Forecast shape up? Check it out at The Weather Network.

This post is sponsored by The Weather Network

Buzz

Dad. Broadcaster. Writer.
Three time Guinness World Record Holder.

I run the world for Team Diabetes.