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Will Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­have mild start to summer? Environment Canada weighs in

Environment Canada talks about one of the coldest Aprils on record and what was deceptive about the long weekend.
Elana Shepert
Elana Shepert
vancouver-weather-forecast-summer-2022
The Metro Vancouver, B.C. weather forecast for summer hasn't been released by Environment Canada but the start of spring is expected to be cool. Photo via Eduardo Fonseca Arraes / Moment / Getty Images

If spring felt cool to you in Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­this year, you are far from alone. 

While April didn't crack the top 10 coldest springs on record, it saw below-average lows. And it doesn't look like the trend is expected to warm for the remainder of the season, either. 

Environment Canada meteorologist Armel Castellan told Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ that the pleasant weather Metro Vancouverites enjoyed over the May long weekend is typical for this time of year; it may have seemed warmer since temperatures have been falling below seasonal averages for several weeks. 

"That's what may be felt so strange... is that we finally hit seasonal [temperatures]...because we've been below seasonal for a lot of the time," he explained in a  phone interview. 

"We may have hit a degree or two above seasonal, but generally speaking...things were not super warm." 

Metro Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­weather forecast: Long weekend temperatures

For a year with average spring temperatures, daily highs on the long weekend would need to reach 5°C to 10°C above seasonal averages to make "a significant difference," added Castellan. 

And while March was closer to seasonal averages in terms of temperature, the month was a whopping 35 per cent wetter, with 153 mm recorded at Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­International Airport (YVR) — an average March sees 114 mm. 

April was 1.4°C colder than average in Metro Vancouver, however. The climatological average temperature at YVR for April is 9.4°C but the mean average for this month was 8°C.

So far, this April was the 28th coldest on record, with Vancouver's records going back to 1896. Further, the colder trend has continued into mid to late May, added the meteorologist. 

While Environment Canada won't provide a summer forecast before June 1,  Castellan said the "consistency of cold and wet that has been notable for many people...at least for the short term is that June doesn't look like it's deviating from that." 

There may be a break from the wet weather heading out of the weekend, but Friday (May 27) and Saturday may see some showers throughout the day. The daily highs aren't expected to rise dramatically heading into next week, either.