Southern Alberta has had a very mild spring and winter, until now.
Saturday’s daytime high in Calgary was unofficially 7.6 degrees Celsius, making it the coldest day in over a month in that city when you look at peak temperatures.
The last daytime high colder than this was on March 22 when the peak temperature was 3.9 degrees Celsius.
On top of that, the entire month of April has technically been dry. Up until Saturday, there have been only three days with “trace amounts of moisture” which are moisture totals that by and large, are considered fairly insignificant and won’t show up quantitatively in official records.
This lack of precipitation is very unusual. According to Environment Canada records from 1971 to 2010, April typically brings 11.5 millimetres of rain and 15.4 centimetres of snow.
Besides being dry, it has also been warm. The mean temperature in Calgary as of April 22 was 9.8 degrees Celsius. The mean temperature is calculated when you minus the daily low from the daily high. The average mean for April is 4.6 degrees Celsius. Obviously, the mean temperature and moisture totals will still change as cooler temperatures and more rain are expected until at least Tuesday. But the last time Calgary had a monthly mean temperature for April that was above 9 degrees Celsius was in 1915.
READ MORE: Calgary breaks 106-year-old heat record
Right now, there is a chance of precipitation for the next three days. Tuesday’s forecasted high is only 7 degrees Celsius which may make it the coldest high for April 2016. Calgary should end the month on a high note; the city is expected to warm up to 18 degrees Celsius by April 30.
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