Spring arrives today! You can say goodbye to winter and hello to spring 2019 at 5:59 p.m. It won't be a bad first day of spring either. It will get milder after a chilly, winter-esque early morning, getting up to about 8 C in late afternoon. A normal high would be 3 C. There will be a gusty southwest wind developing this afternoon under intervals of sun and cloud. Spring is often a "two steps forward, one step back" proposition, and this March is no exception. Showers or flurries are likely overnight for about 48 hours into Friday. The weekend looks nice again though. Follow along with the latest on Twitter.<doc-sep>Send this page to someone via email After a long winter for most of Canada, spring is finally here. Out west, the season is off to an incredible start with numerous high temperature records being set. The ridge of high pressure responsible for the record heat will only slow down through early April, so expect mild and dry weather to continue. At the same time, the eastern half of the country will have a harder time escaping the leftover winter chill. A back-and-forth pattern will see cold weather through at least early April, with the potential for at least one more snowstorm in Quebec and Atlantic Canada. View image in full screen Global News. Global News Here’s what Canadians can expect this spring, from coast to coast to coast. Story continues below advertisement Atlantic Canada and Newfoundland A chilly start to spring will eventually turn milder as the jet stream becomes more zonal (west to east). Occasional storms could bring rain and snow through the first half of April, but overall, this won’t be the same wild spring we saw last year. A slow and steady snowmelt is expected across New Brunswick, but some spring flooding is still likely due to the large remaining snowpack. WATCH: New Brunswick launches 2019 River Watch program 1:59 New Brunswick launches 2019 River Watch program New Brunswick launches 2019 River Watch program – Mar 12, 2019 Ontario and Quebec Colder than normal temperatures will prevail through early April, before the pattern breaks down and we see warm air ride in from the west. The mild conditions of mid and late spring will likely more than offset the chilly start to the season. This is completely different than last year, when April brought abnormal cold, rain, snow and a significant ice storm across southern Ontario. Story continues below advertisement The much-dried pattern forecast this year should limit a major flood threat in April, but it’s something we’ll be watching closely due to the large amount of snow left over. View image in full screen Global News. Global News Prairie provinces Flooding is something many Manitoba residents are fearing mainly due to the snow and ice on the ground, but also because of what’s occurring south of the border. Winter left significant amounts of snow and ice across the northern Plains, including the upper reaches of the Red River. The spring melt will continue, and with the river flowing from south to north, the flood threat on that river and others is something I’ll be watching into May. Thankfully, below-normal precipitation will limit any additional runoff. Story continues below advertisement WATCH: Quick melt across Alberta prompts spring runoff advisory 1:22 Quick melt across Alberta prompts spring runoff advisory Quick melt across Alberta prompts spring runoff advisory – Mar 19, 2019 Temperatures will be above normal through the Prairies but be warmest in Alberta. Even with the mild forecast, one or two late-season snowstorms are likely in places like Edmonton and Calgary. B.C. The record warmth to start spring can’t last forever, but the ridge of high pressure causing it will only slowly break down. By mid-April, temperatures will return to seasonal before warming again late in May. READ MORE: Warmer weather finally arrives in Lower Mainland after unusually nasty winter The early season alpine snow melt is causing significant rises on rivers and streams, but this may also prevent a bigger flood threat later in the spring. Rainfall is expected to be near or below normal for much of the province. Story continues below advertisement WATCH: Warm weather arrives on B.C.’s South Coast just in time for spring break 1:44 Warm weather arrives on the South Coast just in time for spring break Warm weather arrives on the South Coast just in time for spring break – Mar 17, 2019 Northern Canada Much of the northern territories will experience a continued mild pattern for much of spring. The above-normal temperatures will be more common across Yukon and less likely eastward in Nunavut. Precipitation will average close to seasonal. View image in full screen Global News. Global News<doc-sep>
Hallelujah – Spring is here. It may not feel like it, but today is the official first day of Spring. Also known as the Vernal Equinox, today marks the time of year when day and night are most nearly equal (roughly 12 hours each). The spring equinox will officially occur at 5:58 p.m. ET (4:48 p.m. CT). It will signal the astronomical start of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and the beginning of fall in the Southern. The Spring Equinox always falls on March 19, 20 or 21. You can go here for a complete list of Equinox dates. According to the Farmer’s Almanac, today is the day the sun crosses south to north over the celestial equator – the imaginary line in the sky above the Earth’s equator. If you were standing on the equator, the sun would pass directly overhead as it makes its way north. After today, the Northern Hemisphere will tilt towards the sun, giving us longer, sunnier and – thankfully – warmer days. Equinoxes are the only two times a year that sun only rises due east and sets due west. Can you balance a raw egg on its end on the equinox? Folklore tell us that you can balance a raw egg on its end on the equinox, something attributed to the Earth’s “balance” on that day. While it sounds like a fun activity, there’s no basis in fact that egg balancing is any easier on the equinox, according to NASA. The U.S. space agency conducted an unscientific experiment that found it was no easier to balance an egg on the equinox than any other day. What did make it easier was finding an egg with small bumps on its shell, something that NASA said made the “seemingly impossible task achievable.”