Weekend Outlook: Is winter over?

This weekend is supposed to be the turning point for Winter, according to the last 30 years of weather data. From Saturday onward, climate data suggests that temperatures start to trend upwards and keep going up until mid-summer. However, the forecast for this weekend has kicked that subtle change up a bit.

We may continue to see a lot of clouds this weekend (I'm still betting on a bit of sun), but temperatures will remain a couple of degrees above freezing each day; that's almost eight degrees warmer than the normal daytime highs near -6°C for late January. Indeed, is it just a brief January thaw?

Looking into next week and even the week beyond that suggests that what you get this weekend will be the status quo into the start of February.  Certainly, we will still have a cold snap here and there in February, but the warm weather early this Winter might also be how it ends. 

Patchy drizzle is possible Friday morning, but we could see a few breaks in the clouds in the afternoon as temperatures reach +3°C. The cloud cover remains in place on Saturday, with a chance of isolated afternoon showers and daytime highs again near +3°C.

We might see a few breaks in the clouds late Sunday, but the temperatures drop slightly to +2°C.on a light northerly breeze. Daytime highs will remain above freezing into next week, with a chance of light rain on Tuesday.  All of this doesn't bode well for what little snow we have.