Submitted by Bill Caulfeild-Browne
March saw large temperature swings although the mean temperature at -1.7C was only a degree warmer than normal. It started out cool with a lowest temperature of -12.9C; mid-month this reversed with a string of very spring-like days and a maximum temperature of 10.2C. We thought winter might be over – the first few days of astronomical Spring (March 20th) showed no frost, even at night.
But by the end of the month winter weather reasserted itself with cold windy days and only redeemed itself on the 31st with a high of 9.2C. (A little history from my weather station – the last week of March 2003 dropped to -27.3C!)
Tobermory was not alone with these fluctuations. Peterborough eked out a high of 18.2C during the warm spell – but then the cold spell brought the mercury down by as much 10C below normal in much of Southern Ontario.
These varying temperatures caused swings in ice accumulation on Lake Huron. During the first two weeks the ice grew and was above normal coverage. The end of the month saw all that melting and coverage ended up lower than normal.
Precipitation was well above the normal of 57mm at 81mm. The bulk of this was rain, rain/snow mix or freezing rain. The 23rd/24th gave us 33mm. and the 30th gave us 19mm. It was a messy month.
April has started out cool but with copious sunshine. If we can add about 10C to the mercury, we really will have Spring.
