Monday marks the official first day of spring, which will bring some hope to what lies ahead after a dark and cold winter.  

Environment Canada Meteorologist, Terri Lang says that looking at the long-range forecast for March, April, and May in Moose Jaw, people may have to wait a little while longer for those spring-like temperatures.  

“For the first four weeks it is looking more on the cooler side,” says Lang. “When we go a little bit further into the three-month forecast it’s still on the cool side. There’s no real pattern showing up for any precipitation whether it’s going to be above or below average, it’s still an equal chance of either of that happening.” 

Winter really got going in Moose Jaw in late October after around 30 centimetres fell in a 12-hour period that blanketed the city and most of the region for days.  

Then the city was hit again with snow and bone-chilling temperatures around Christmas and into the New Year.  

Lastly, earlier this month Moose Jaw was hit yet again with a massive weather system that closed several highways in the area and blanketed most of southern Saskatchewan.  

Though residents may not like this introduction to spring, Lang says that the farmers will be the ones benefiting from the slow melt.  

“It will allow for more of the snow that is on the ground and when it does melt it will be soaked up by the ground,” says Lang. “When the ground is frozen, and we get a very fast melt then a lot of the moisture runs, and it is not incorporated into the ground.” 

A faster melt occurs when temperatures are milder, wind conditions are more present, and when overnight lows don’t dip below zero.  

Unfortunately, none of those conditions are expected to be seen in the next 10 days.  

“It’s going to be slow. There’s a substantial snowpack running across the northern Grain Belt, as well as the Boreal Forest, there’s quite a big snowpack in there so it’s going to take a while to melt.” 

There is positive news for residents, as early projections are showing that no major winter weather systems have their sights on Moose Jaw, at least for the next 10 days.  

In saying that though, Lang explains that April could be a different story when it comes to Colorado Lows.  

“They tend to be quite heavy snowfalls out of them. Keep an eye out for them because we are starting to get warmer temperatures now. Warmer temperatures can hold more moisture. People should not be surprised if we get more snow.”  

Continuing through Monday the expected high will get to around –7 C, -6 C on Tuesday, and Wednesday will warm up slightly with a high of around –2 C.