More On Ash Wednesday
But now the bad news:
CBC ran a story that said:
"Arctic vortex" will delay spring for most of country
Most Canadians will have to endure a very slow start to spring, according to Environment Canada's latest three-month forecast.
The agency predicts cooler than normal temperatures from the west coast clear through to Quebec over the next 90 days.
Maps on Environment Canada's website suggest Atlantic Canada and eastern regions of Canada's North will enjoy warmer than average temperatures in the next three months, however.
Dale Marciski at Environment Canada said "a late arctic vortex" that moved in on northern parts of Hudson Bay last month is to blame for the cold temperatures in southern Ontario and Western Canada.
"It's doing some very strange things," he said.
"It's pulling the cool air down across the Prairies and into Ontario, but on the other side it's pulling very warm air off the Atlantic.
"And actually, places like Iqaluit and Baffin Island are setting record warm temperatures lately."
The weather agency updates its three-month forecast at the beginning of every month, Marciski told CBC.ca.
But he warns that long-term forecasting is still an inexact science, especially when it comes to precipitation predictions.
"We don't have the same confidence levels in the monthly and seasonal forecasts as we do in the day-to-day forecasts that we issue," he said.
The forecast suggests that most of southern Ontario and central Manitoba and Saskatchewan will have a wetter spring than usual, while Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and most of the North will be drier than usual.
So don't put away that snowblower just yet folks.