Spring Outlook 2015: Long-range weather forecast for Alberta and the rest of the Prairies

Wednesday, March 4, 2015, 2:52 PM - Since early December, mild weather had dominated across most of Alberta, a stark contrast to the very winter-like fall that was experienced in the province.

After a cold few days to start the month, a period of spring-like temperatures is expected through the second week of March. The mild temperatures will not be here to stay, however, according to The Weather Network’s 2015 Spring Outlook for March, April and May.

"The cold will return during the second half of the month and give us near normal temperatures for the month as a whole," chief meteorologist Chris Scott said.

This will give us the potential for a couple rounds of wintry weather during late March and early April before milder weather becomes the dominate pattern once again for late April and May. "The rest of the spring, we think, will to trend back towards normal to above normal for temperatures and near normal for precipitation," Scott said.

See these regional outlooks: National | British Columbia | Prairies | Ontario | Quebec | Atlantic Region

This is the temperature outlook for March.

This is the temperature outlook for March, April and May combined.

This is the precipitation outlook for March, April and May combined.

This is the outlook for Alberta.

For Saskatchewan and Manitoba, snowfall has been near to below seasonal, which will help reduce the risk of major flooding compared with the past two years. Conditions upstream in the United States, however, will play a role heading into mid-spring.

As spring continues through April and May, the Prairies will trend toward near normal temperatures with the tendency to skew a bit above normal in the latter part of spring.

This is the outlook for Saskatchewan.

This is the outlook for Manitoba.

CORRECTION: The label on an earlier version of the March map said "precipitation," although the map indicated temperature. It has been corrected.