With the extreme cold expected to abate over the weekend, many people are looking forward to what March will bring when it comes to the weather. After all, the old saying is, “In Like a lion, out like a lamb” and vice versa.  

The forecast from Environment Canada is saying that the weather for March First, which is next Wednesday, should be just a little bit cooler than seasonal, with the sun shining. That would seem rather lamb-like to most people. So, what does that mean for the rest of the month? Will it be out like a lion?

“We’ve just done a recent update of our monthly forecast for the month of March,” explained Brian Proctor. He is a meteorologist with Environment Canada. “It definitely looks sort of below seasonal temperature-wise, so definitely a little bit cool to start the end of winter, beginning of spring.” 

After the change of the seasons, things should start to moderate, according to Proctor. He pointed out that La Nina is starting to wan, which could see temperatures getting back to seasonal as we really get into the spring.  

The cooler temperatures can also have an impact on what we could expect precipitation-wise, at least in terms of how much of it.  

“That often is indicative of the storm track being close to the area, so I would hope to see a little bit more in the way of late winter, early spring precipitation which could help out from an agricultural point of view.” 

This winter has already seen quite a bit of precipitation in the Weyburn area. As well, there is the old wives’ tale that fog means precipitation in 90 days. The early part of January saw a significant amount of fog in Weyburn. This would mean, if it is true, that as the calendar changes from March to April, we could see quite a bit of precipitation. What form that will take, however, is not part of the old saying.