Wild weather, including snow and lightning, persists in April

Up to eight centimeters of snow blanketed homes in Campbell River on Tuesday -- part of some wild weather, more reminiscent of winter than spring.

The winter wallop forced road crews with Mainroad North Island Contracting to clear snow from some mid-island highways -- when they usually would be gearing up for the next season.

Chris Cowley is the general manger of the company, and he says his team is starting to expect the unexpected this time of year when it comes to weather. Still, the snow prevented them from shifting to spring-related work.

“It delays everything. We're having to retool our trucks and make sure they’re winter ready,” said Cowley Tuesday.

On Mt. Washington, fresh powder added to a base that's higher than it's been most anytime this year, even though the downhill ski season ended last week.

Elsewhere, thunder and lightning pierced the night sky in Nanaimo Monday, before hail fell from it.

“It's just been one of those months where everything's been in flux, and really unstable right now,” said CTV’s weather specialist, Warren Dean, Tuesday. “And were just not quite in that smooth zone yet.”

Even on the south island, where buds are bursting from branches and flowers are blooming, there’s still plenty of toques on heads.

In fact, Armel Castellan with Environment and Climate Change Canada confirms that for much of Vancouver Island, this April ranks in the top five coldest on record. However, those unseasonably cold temperatures will be changing in about a week.

“May’s defintiely the month we'll get what we're looking for, get what were wanting, as we’ve been stuck in this little bit of a funk,” said Dean Tuesday, predicting warmer temperatures come next month.

That funk is not that unusual for this time of year, however, say Castellan.

This is, in a sense, typical spring weather, where we can have all four seasons all at once.