The first half of March continued with its topsy-turvy weather, oscillating between cold, cool, and very warm. March 2 dropped to -25 degrees Celsius at night, and March 15 soared to +16 C, which unleashed the flow of maple sap in earnest.
For all those ups and downs, the average temperature for the first two weeks of March was just that: average. The normal for the month is -1.4 C, and the average so far is -1.6 C, which is over two degrees above the -3.8 C average of the first week.
There were 6 centimetres of snow during the past week, which melted down to just over 5 millimetres of water. No rain at all. Total precipitation for the month so far is 16 mm which is about 40 per cent of normal. Despite the lack of precipitation, the melting snow makes the landscape look pretty mucky.
The forecast for the remainder of the month will likely be above average due to a couple of daytime highs around +15 C, with nighttime lows largely above the seasonal average. Rain is forecast for the last week of the month – April flowers! – but not in large amounts.