March 2024, a typical one according to Environment Canada

We have marched on to April 2024, and Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) reflects on the month of leprechauns and green drinks.

Meteorologist Brian Proctor, delving into the weather statistics for March, reveals that, based on over a century of data from ECCC, it was the 48th driest and 46th warmest on record. While seemingly ordinary, these figures carry a wealth of understanding concerning our climate patterns.

"It was a bit of a changeable month. We saw a lot of fluctuations in what was going on. But it's pretty average when we add up the month as a whole."

When looking at Portage's participation numbers, he says we got 75 per cent of normal with 20 mm of water equivalency, when we would normally get 26.8. 

Proctor notes that it was also a typical March in the degree column.

"The mean temperature for the month of March was -6° in Portage. The normal temperature is -5.6. So, very little difference. All those fluctuations we saw when we average them out, it turned into a very sort of typical month."

The Meteorologist adds that he is not surprised to hear the ups and downs in March was noticed by residents, but that isn't unique.

"It was very typical, middle of the pack, run of the run of the mill kind of month," he continues. "One of the things to remember is we often see fairly significant snowfall events as we move through March into April, and it's really important for us to get this kind of moisture from an agricultural point of view moving forward."

Who knows what April's weather stats will look like? Only time will tell.