This long Easter Weekend brings a variety of weather conditions to the Sault. First, it starts cold and windy, then some sunshine and heat arrive, after that, the chocolate eggs arrive, and finally, a strong winter storm could finish it off.
Weather forecast models have a tough time predicting details beyond three or four days, but a large storm is showing up as a possibility for the Great Lakes region by Monday. A lot can happen between now and then to change the forecast, but there is a lot of agreement between some of the better models to suggest this one could hit the Sault region. If it's intensity and track continue as is, then a strong winter storm dumps 10-20 cm of snow around the region. Let's hope the Easter Bunny has a change of heart, steers the storm away and brings extra chocolate instead for us to enjoy during all this self-isolating.
Thursday will start with mostly cloudy skies, and then flurries start before noon. The northwest winds will increase throughout the day and reach sustained values over 30 km/h with gusts over 60 km/h. The winds weaken a bit in the evening as the flurries come to an end.
Friday will be evening colder as temperatures struggle to reach the freezing mark. The northwesterly wind will continue through the day and help cause windchill values well below zero and bring more light snow to the region. There should be a mix of sun and clouds, and the chance of a few flurries still exists.
Sunshine returns to the region on Saturday with clouds moving in during the afternoon. Daytime highs climbing back to near +10°C.
The sunshine returns Sunday by noon, with temperatures climbing to near +7°C - which is normal for mid-April.
Monday brings a risk for a large winter storm to hit the region. Strong winds arrive to push temperatures back down to near the freezing mark. We might see brief rain to start the day, but then snow is in the current forecast for the afternoon. Weather models suggest 10-20 cm of snow by Tuesday morning, but that's still several days away, and things are likely to change between now and then.