Scorching temperatures to break records for March and April
Posted Mar 22, 2012 04:57:12 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Parks and patios across HRM will be packed again today as temperatures hit record levels for a sixth straight day.
The mercury reached 25.8 C Wednesday, eclipsing the previous record of 10.5 C set in 1979.
By 4 a.m. today, the temperature had hit 15 C, well above the previous record of 11.8 C, set in 1983.
The predicted high today is 28 C, which will not only set another record high for March but for April as well.
“It’s scary,” said our meteorologist Richard Zurawski. “Not only are we breaking records, but we’re absolutely obliterating it by 10 and 15 degrees right across the Maritimes. I think what we are seeing here is a tipping point. I don’t think this is an anomaly. I think this is an indicator of things that are starting to change quite seriously in our weather patterns.”
Although the sunshine is mostly a welcome change from normal late March conditions, it has brought out a few summertime annoyances – hornets swarming patios, pollen, and even sunburn.
“I got burnt pretty bad yesterday,” said one red-faced man at Young and Robie. “My lips, my back, everything. I’ll be getting sunblock today, for sure.”
“When the sun is out it is quite strong,” said Zurawski. “Sunblock is a necessity, especially for young children. You want to make sure their covered up or in a shady area, that’s even better than sunblock.”
The same early-morning commuter said he’d had some problems with hornets, possibly annoyed by the premature disruption of their winter sleep.
“We had some encounters with hornets already, flying around our heads. We were trying to swat them away or get away from them,” he said.
Anyone not getting attacked by angry insects, or burnt to a crisp in the backyard, will face other seasonal frustrations on the roads.
The Department of Transportation is taking advantage of unusually warm weather to tackle the annual spring problem of potholes.
“Our winter equipment operators are still on hand and, as we don’t expect to be doing much plowing during the next few days, these crews can help us get a quick start on fixing potholes,” said Minister of Transportation Bill Estabrooks in a release.
The province will be covering 23,000 kilometres of roads and is asking motorists to drive with extra caution.
Halifax Regional Municipality will also have road crews working from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. and from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. for the next couple of weeks.
Despite summer road work getting underway, Zurawski recommends drivers not remove their snow tires yet.
He said today is the last day for these extremely warm temperatures and by next week the thermometer should show more normal temperatures, between -5 and 5 C.
