While it has been a warmer than normal winter, the month of March did not follow that trend.
Environment Canada statistics show the mean temperature in March was anywhere between 2.4 and 3.8 degrees below normal. Saskatoon had the 51st coldest March in 128 years, North Battleford’s March was the 27th coldest in 83 years, while Prince Albert was pretty close to the middle with the 67th coldest March in 137 years.
March was dry for the most part with Saskatoon getting 10.8 millimetres of water equivalent precipitation or nearly 5 millimetres less than normal. The far north was the driest with Key Lake only 5.7 millimetres making it the third driest March in 47 years.
(Above charts are courtesy of Terri Lang/Environment and Climate Change Canada)