Weather 'mess' expected to continue for weekend

THE STARPHOENIX  MAY 15, 2009

The May long weekend is approaching in Saskatchewan, and this year that means thoughts turn to camping, gardening -- and brushing snow off your car.

"The cold air is moved in there and another system is tapping into the cold air and creating snow and showers," said Dan Kulak, with Environment Canada in Edmonton.

He said the "mess" is expected to continue through the weekend.

A low-pressure system moving through the province brought heavy snowfall warnings Thursday.

Cold air from northern Saskatchewan breezed through the province, accompanied by strong winds and flurries.

Despite its unfortunate timing, the snow does help green up lawns and gardens.

In the springtime, snow is packed with more moisture, Kulak said. Typically, one centimetre of snow brings the equivalent of one millimetre of rain, but in January, snow holds less water. In May, there's more.

"At this time of the year the snow does tend to be fairly wet," Kulak said.

The chances of more snow appearing during the long weekend are high. Another low pressure system is predicted to move through by Sunday, with a high of 7 C forecast for Monday.

May snowfall is not out of the ordinary. Average monthly snowfall in May is 2.2 centimetres, measured at the Saskatoon airport from 1971 to 2000. The biggest recorded dump of snow in the month of May was 18.5 cm on May 10, 1953.

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