April has been off to a chilly start in the Maritimes with temperatures so far sitting well below the averages for the month.
Average daily temperatures are so far sitting about two to three degrees below climate normal for the month.
The biggest thumb on the scale seems to be cooler daytime highs so far. Those are sitting two to four degrees below average.
There will be a smaller difference when it comes to the overnight lows. Those are sitting mostly one to two degrees below average. That surprised me a little bit as I was expecting a bigger difference when it comes to the overnight lows given the chilly nighttime conditions as of late.
We are only a third of the way through the month. Temperatures will continue to warm through the end of April and we should start to make up some of the current difference.
Still, it will take at least a couple of spells of milder/warmer April weather to give us a chance of closing the gap towards the averages for the month.
Season moving forward
There is not much of an indication the region can expect an extended stretch of unseasonably warm weather through the end of April.
Temperature models for the remainder of the month point to the U.S. southwest as having the highest chance of above average temperatures over the next several days. After that the highest chance switches over the U.S. southeast.
Seasonal predictions issued by Environment Canada for the period of April, May and June indicate above average temperatures for the Maritimes are likely. The same prediction indicates near normal amounts of precipitation except for below average precipitation in New Brunswick and western Prince Edward Island.
