May is here, along with all its Canadian weather extremes
May offers signs of consistent warmer weather, but still with a fight from winter hanging on across Canada
May is certainly a transitional month, as winter continues to offer its last blow, all while early signs of summer start to splash through, too. Everything from snow, to frost, tornadoes and extreme heat can appear throughout the month of May.
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Although daytime highs certainly begin a fast and steady climb, some areas can still see temperatures dip well below freezing.
The city of Calgary for example, once felt a frigid May temperature of -16.7°C, making it the coldest May day on record for the region.
Let's not forget about the spring snow reality check, as well.
While a few major cities including Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal don't typically see any snowfall in May, the chance for flakes to fly covers the rest of the country. In fact, more than 10 cm usually falls in southern Alberta each year, while parts of the East Coast pick up closer to 5 cm.
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That's not to say things can't swing to the summer extremes, either. Almost all major cities across the country have seen a toasty 30°C day in May.
"What's great about May is it's a month where normal temperatures increase pretty quickly," says Matt Grinter, a meteorologist at The Weather Network. "Many places will see a normal temperature increase of 6°C from May 1 to May 31."
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Areas closer to bodies of water, however, will hang onto the cooler weather longer. Water temperatures are still quite chilly at this time of year, as well, so it's important to remain safe on waterways until things consistently warm up.
