April 2026 Review

So we've reached the end of March 2026 and it's time for...wait, what?? That was actually April?

Oh. Hmmm. 

Well then, I guess it's time for our big look back at Edmonton's weather for March April 2026.

So yes, April 2026 was cold.

The average High of 8.3°C was the 111th warmest on record. The average Low of -2.6°C was 105th. 

That's in the same range as 2020 & 2018, and warmer than 2013.

And that's about 6°C warmer than a typical March.

April is a rare month (along with October) that hasn't warmed up much over the past century.

Its average Lows have crept up by 2°C, while its Highs have actually gotten slightly colder.

In comparison, January is up by 8-10°C, and even July is up by 2-4°C.



High Temperatures

April's Highs were all over the place, ranging from 23.3°C on the 30th to -2.1°C on the 25th (our 3rd coldest on record). 

Overall 11 Highs were above average. 19 were below average, and 3 of those were the coldest in 30 years.

April 2026 had 3 Highs get to 20°C, when we average 2. But April also averages 16 10°C Highs, and we only got 11.

It had 2 below-freezing Highs, which is average. But one of those was in the final week. Recently only 2013, 2008 & 2005 got that cold, that late.

A "funny" thing about this spring is that it just hasn't been able to string together more than a few warm days in-a-row.

January had 6 5°C Highs in-a-row, and February had 12.

But since spring started we've only had a few here or there, then a 6 day stretch, and then freezing temperatures again. So winter felt more like spring than spring has.

This is just a comparison of the March-April Highs from 2026 to some of our colder recent springs, like 2020, 2013 & 2002.

2002 had our 2nd coldest March-April on record, and the average High was 5°C colder than this year.



Low Temperatures

April's Lows didn't have a huge range, from -8.5°C on the 1st up to 2.9°C on the 20th. 

Overall 12 Lows were above average, and 18 were below, including 4 which were the coldest in 30 years.

April averages 14 above-freezing Lows, and in 2026 we only got 6. 

Sometimes April starts off really cold, like -21°C in 2020 & -18°C in 2020. While 2026 wasn't warm, its coldest Low was only -8.5°C.



Final Frost

The average date of Blatchford's final frost is one week away, on May 6th. 

2025's was pretty late on May 16st, while 2024, 2023 & 2020 were all done around April 20th. 

Stony Plain's average is May 10th, while the airport's is May 25th.



Warm & Cold Months

April 2026 gets a medium blue/cold bubble, because the average High of 8.3°C was -2.3°C colder than the 20th century average. And the average Low of -2.6°C was -1.2°C colder. 

So April & March weren't warm. Other years with cool springs were 2020, 2018, 2017, 2014, 2013...



Across Canada

Across the country April was cold on the prairies (and St. John's), and warmish everywhere else.

That ranged from Saskatoon with Highs -3.7°C below their 20th century average, to Kelowna at 2.6°C above theirs.



Daily Highs on the Prairies

As much as Edmonton's spring has been underwhelming, all of the prairie cities have been pretty chilly. Since the start of spring Saskatoon has set 3 record for coldest daily Highs.



Snow

April averages 13cm of snow, and we almost always get at least a bit.

2026 was just above average with with 14.8cm.

But April had 9 days with snow, when the average is only around 5.

By the end of April we average around 113cm of total snowfall.

This winter we're up to 133.5cm, which is our snowiest winter since 2018's 160cm.

Almost half of this year's snow was the 60cm from our very snowy December.

Everyone wants the snow to be over, but in May we do average another 5cm.

About half of the time May is snowfree. The other half will usually be done around the first week, but 2011 waited until June 4th.



Snow Across Canada

This messy chart is the snow totals across the country. 

St. John's is way out in the lead with 522cm, while its average is around 330cm. 

Charlottetown was next with 305cm, while its average is closer to 500cm. 

Toronto's 190cm was its 11th snowiest winter.

After a quiet start to winter, Calgary got 47.8cm of snow in March (7th snowiest) and 37.2cm in April (19th snowiest). Together that's their 5th snowiest March and April on record. It brings them to 148cm for the winter, which is right on average.

The biggest snow day of April 2026 was St. John's 18.6cm on the 4th, followed by Calgary's 15.2cm on the 2nd. Edmonton's biggest day was 5.4cm on the 7th.



Snowdepth

For snowdepth, the airport and Stony Plain both got to 0cm on the 9th, but then bounced back up for a few days after that late storms. Blatchford got to 0cm on the 20th, and Elk Island finally got there on the 29th.

It's tough to remember now, but the snow got a really late start this winter, waiting until November 28th.

But the final melt was about as late as we get, along with other late years like 2020, 2018 & 2013.

Across the country most cities hung onto their snow into April this year. So while Edmonton was late, we had lots of company.



May

For May we average a week or two above 20°C, and quite often we will reach 30°C.

About a third of the time our final frost is in April, but May often has a few of frosty nights.

And the airport recorded May snow in 2024. 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2015...

March 2026 Review

It's time for our look back at Edmonton's weather for March 2026, which probably felt disappointing, but which wasn't actually too unusual.

March 2026 was a little cold, but not by too much. 

The average High of 1.1°C was the 69th warmest on record. The average Low of -9.6°C was 76th. 

That's below 2025 & 2022, but above 2024 & 2023. Our last really warm March was 2021, and the last really cold one was 2014.



High Temperatures

March's Highs bounced around. 

We had a few really warm days around the 7th and 17th, and a bunch of average or cold ones. 

Overall 16 Highs were above average, with 15.2°C on the 17th as the warmest. 15 were below average, with -9.6°C on the 25th as the coldest.

March averages 20 above-freezing Highs, and 2026 got 19. 

9 of those got to 5°C, when the average is around 12. 

And 4 got to 10°C when we average 4. 

We also got one 15°C High on the 17th, while a lot of the time those need to wait until April.

Low Temperatures

March's Lows also bouced around. The warmest was 2.4°C on the 7th, and the coldest was 19.9°C on the 13th, narrowly missing a March -20°C. 

Overall 13 Lows were above average, and 18 were below.

March averages 1 Low of -20°C, and 2026 didn't get any, although it did get close. 

It also averages 3 above-freezing Lows, and we got 4. 

The month did end with a string of Lows from -10°C to -15°C, and typically we're done with those by now.



Cold Days

It looks like the winter of 2025-2026 will end with 25 -20°C Lows. That's average, although the only recent winter with more was 2021-2022's 32. 

We got to -25°C 11 times, which is right on average. 

And no -30°C Lows for the first time since 2016-2017 (although we did get close).



Warm & Cold Months

March 2026's Highs get a tiny warm/orange bubble here because the average High of 1.1°C was 0.2°C warmer than the 20th century average. 

The average Low of -9.6°C was actually -0.1°C colder. 

But both 2023 & 2020 (covid March) were even colder.



Across Canada

Across the country March was a mix of above and below average. Dawson City was -6.8°C below their 20th century average, and Winnipeg was -1.3°C below theirs. The most above average was Calgary, at 2.6°C above their 20th century average.

Snow

Everyone wants winter to be over, but March is one of our big winter months averaging 20cm of snow and 9 snowy days. 

In 2026 the airport was right on average with 19.2cm. 

And in April & May together we average another 19cm.

March's snowiest day was the 29th with 5.2cm. 

Although March's big storms are dwarfed by our extra-snowy December.

By the end of March we average 100cm of total snowfall. 

This winter we're up to 118.7cm. 

For a whole winter we average around 120~125cm, so we're close, but we do average another 19cm in April & May.



Snow Across Canada

This chart is pretty messy, but it is the snow totals so far across the country.

St. John's is way out in the lead over 450cm. Halifax, Ottawa & Charlottetown are all above 250cm, and Toronto, Moncton & Montréal are over 200cm.

After a pretty quiet winter, Calgary got 47.8cm of snow in March, which is its 7th snowiest March on record.

And Calgary had March's biggest snowday, with 17.8cm on the 25th. 

The rest of the biggest storm were all on the easy coast again. St. John's had a 17cm day, and Charlottetown & Halifax both had 3 days above 10cm.



Snowdepth

We do sometimes get to 0cm of snowdepth before the end of March, although it might not last. 

The airport had "trace amounts" on March 20th, but the late snow pushed it back up. 

At the end of March the airport has 10cm while Blatchford is still up at 29cm.



April

For April, on average we only get 2 Highs below 0°C, although 2022, 2020 & 2018 started quite cold. 

Most Aprils reach 20°C, and 2001, 2015, 2016 & 2018 all got to 25°C. But April still averages 15 Lows below freezing, and 15cm of snow.

Deepwinter 2025-2026 Review

Winter isn't over (our only month to never record snow is July, so is winter every truly over...?). But we should be done with the deep-winter portion of it. So let's take a quick look back at that.

Our average temperatures for November & March mirror each other, as we drop into, and then climb out of, the deepest part of winter. But for December-Feburary things stay pretty flat, with an average High from -3°C to -6°C, and average Low from -12°C to -15°C.

 

For December-February 2025-2026 our temperatures were the 46th warmest on record. That was below 2024-2025 and 2023-2022, but above the two winters before that. Separately the Highs ranked as #42, and Lows as #45.



Across Canada

Across the country it was a warm 3 months in BC, but was really cold in Toronto.

From that long list some of the notable cities were: 

• Kelowna's #3 warmest Dec-Feb (the warmest since 1966) 
• Vancouver's #4 
• Victoria's #5 
• Calgary's #15 
• Toronto's #142 (the coldest since 2014)

Monthly Pie Pieces

Here's the trivia pursuit view, with 2025-2026's blue pie piece for December, while for 2024-2025 it was February. 

Recent winters which were warm for Dec-Feb were 2023-2024, 2019-2020, 2015-2016, 2014-2015 & 2011-2012.

If we want to extend things out a bit to include November-March, 2015-2016 was warm for all 5 months (it was a super El Niño), 

And 2023-2024 and 2011-2012 both got 4 solidly warm months, with 1 average~ish month. 

2010-2011 & 2013-2014 are the standout cold recent winters.



Cold Days

We will probably finish this winter with 25 Lows of -20°C, which is right on average (we narrowly missed a few more, but close doesn't count). 

We got 11 -25°C Lows, which is right on average.

And this winter we didn't get to -30°C (although we did get to -29.5°C on December 28th).

This is the first winter without a -30°C since 2026-2017.

Back in 1998-2003 we actually went over 5 years without reaching -30°C.

Around the neighbourhood the number of -20°C & -25°C Lows this winter was right on average for Stony Plain, the Airport & Campsie.

For -30°C Lows Stony Plain did get one, when it averages around 4.

The airport got 10 and Campsie got 13, both of which are average.



Warm Days

For warm days Blatchford had 35 Highs reach 0°C for Dec-Feb, which is right on average. 

24 of those got to 5°C, which is the 2nd most on record. We average closer to 15. 

4 got to 10°C, which is a lot, but the last two winters also got 3 and 4 of them.

And we always think of the outlying stations as being cold. 

But for 0°C, 5°C & 10°C Highs Stony Plain tied Blatchford. 

The airport is unnaturally cold though.



Snow

Things should start warming up soon, but the snow isn't done with us. On average we get another 28cm of snow after March 15th.

The average date of our final snow is right around the start of May. That average has been consistent for a long time, although from year to year there's a lot of variability.

May averages around 5cm of snow, although lots of years get none, while some years gets lots. 

Recently May 2021 got 9cm, 2015 got 12cm, 2010 got 28cm, and 2003 got 38cm. 

But late snow usually melts off quickly.



Snowdepth

In terms of snow on the ground, we're often snowfree by the end of March or beginning of April.

So in a good year that's two weeks away, but in a bad year it's maybe 4 or 5.