Don't put your winter coats away just yet.
Spring officially arrives at 5:01 a.m. on Thursday, March 20 and it's expected to be a cold and wet start to the season according to Environment Canada Warning Preparedness Meteorologist Steven Flisfeder.
"Right off the bat Thursday, early morning you could see some shower and even some thunderstorm activity," said Flisfeder. "That rain will transition into a brief period of flurries into the afternoon with temperatures dropping."
Flisfeder said spring can be a bit of a roller-coaster season as we transition from the colder winter months to summer.
"So we have been seeing that variation already with temperatures reaching the mid-teens to close to 20, but then dropping down to single digits," he said. "We'll continue to see that fight between warm and cold over the next couple of weeks. As we transition to April and May, that's when those temperatures will become more consistent."
On average, the spring is expected to be warmer than normal, but Flisfeder said precipitation forecasts are always a lot trickier.
"Right now there's no clear trend as to whether it will be below, above or near normal," he said. "That being said, we will se an increase in shower and thunderstorm activity, especially as the spring reaches its peak towards the middle of April and May."
On the vernal equinox, the length of day and night is nearly equal in all parts of the world.
