The transition from Winter to Spring has been a roller coaster to say the least throughout the month of April in Westman. Just two weeks ago, overnight lows had dipped into the minus double digits and daytime highs were hard-pressed to break the freezing mark.
After a gradual increase over the second half of the month, Thursday’s Environment and Climate Change Canada forecast calls for Brandon thermometers to reach a milestone not seen in nearly seven months with a high temperature breaking the 20 degree mark alongside sunny skies.
Should the temp reach the expected 22 degrees, it would mark the first time over 20 since October 8th when a peak of 21.8 was seen. The warmth would be well above-normal for the final day of April, which data shows as having an average high of 14.8. One year ago the max was 9.7 with an overnight low of -5.6.
The above-seasonal warmth is expected to continue into the weekend with forecast highs of 18 (cloudy, rain) on Friday and 19 (sunny) on Saturday as of the time of this posting.
Folks will be having to get creative to cautiously take advantage of the turn in weather fortune, with social distancing measures in place alongside the COVID-19 pandemic response including closures that remain in effect at City playgrounds and outdoor recreation facilities. In being asked to maintain a distance of 2 metres (6 feet), Manitobans are being advised to avoid crowded outdoor spaces and stay around home as much as possible. Included on a "safe to do" list published by the Province on its COVID-19 website are activities such as yard work, gardening, playing in one's yard or outdoor physical activity (walking, running, biking, hiking) on one's own or with other household members.
The most current Brandon forecast can be seen at:
https://weather.gc.ca/city/pages/mb-52_metric_e.html