Spring is Over

Weather Station 1 weather report: I spoke to a senior meteorologist at Environment Canada yesterday, who told me spring is effectively over. After a cool week of rain and hail, the skies are about to clear and the sun is about to shine.

In Ontario, this weekend will see July-like temperatures, hot and dry and about 28 degrees celcius. Those conditions will hang on all through May, he said, leading to a summer that will be hotter than average, with slightly below-average precipitation.

Last year was pretty wet. We had a lot of mixed days — rain in the morning, sun in the afternoon, and vice-versa. It was actually the wettest summer on record, he told me; this year promises to be better for the beach, better for campers.

On the down side, it will be much more humid, which brings with it smog warnings in southern Ontario. Yeah, that clean Canadian air isn’t found south of Parry Sound; once you get near the cities, the air turns bad.

“This summer is good news for people who like taking their shirts off and drinking beer on the deck, but bad news for seniors and people with asthma,” my source told me.

I live near a lot of beaches, and I have central air. In my igloo. So we’ll be okay.

First Signs of Spring

Here are 10 things that happened today that made me think that, despite the calendar, today really was the first day of spring.

1. Most of the snow is gone, except for that one patch at the zoo playground that stays until May.
2. The air smells like dogs have been by, if you know what I’m saying.
3. A long-lost favourite toy is found in the yard. In this case, it was a piglet Littlest Pet Shop.
4. We go hiking in sweaters and galoshes, not parkas and boots.
5. I consider getting the driveway redone. This wears off every spring after I realize how much it’ll cost.
6. There’s a trail of mud from the kitchen door to the fridge and back outside again, and suspiciously fewer cheese strings.
7. A guy rides by on a bike, balancing a 12 of cheap beer on his handlebars. Well, this didn’t actually happen today, but I was expecting it to.
8. My 10-year-old figures out a sneaky way to wear running shoes outside.
9. We set the clocks ahead.
10. A flight of Canada Geese flew overhead at 6:25. Magic.

Of course, we’ll get at least one more big snowfall. But it won’t last. And in a few weeks, the barbecue will be going, the patio set will be re-assembled, the bikes will be tuned up and another great Canadian summer will be upon us.

Happy spring, everyone.