Canada - weather in March

March is a spring month in southern Canada, where it is still cold, so much so that the average temperature is around 0 °C (32 °F) in the southernmost cities (see Toronto, Halifax). Instead, in the north the temperatures are still several degrees below freezing, and are similar to those of January and February.
The north-central lakes, the Arctic Ocean and Hudson Bay are still frozen. Even the Great Lakes in the south can freeze to a greater or lesser extent, depending on the temperature. Generally, the maximum extent of the ice is reached between the end of February and the beginning of March.
An exception is the coast of British Columbia (see Vancouver), to the west, which has an oceanic climate and where temperatures are quite mild.
In any case, the days get longer, in fact on March 21, the day of the spring equinox, the day lasts 12 hours all over the world.
However, cold spells can still occur, during which the temperature can reach -15 °C (5 °F) even in southern cities and on the east coast, while in Vancouver, on the coldest days it drops slightly below freezing.
On the other hand, the chinook, a mild, dry wind capable of melting snow, can blow on the eastern side of the mountains.
Precipitation (rain or snow) is scarce in the vast cold areas of the center and north, where it usually occurs in the form of ligh snow, and also in the interior areas of the southwest, in the Great Prairies (see Edmonton, Calgary, Regina). In the south, in the Great Lakes area (see Toronto) and in Québec (see Montreal, Ottawa), precipitation is frequent, while it is even more frequent, and often abundant, in the east, on the Atlantic coasts (in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, v. Saint John's, Halifax), where it often occurs in the form of snow. Also in the west, on the coast of British Columbia (see Vancouver), the rains are frequent, and sometimes abundant, while snowfalls are rare.

The following tables show the climate averages in the month of March in Canada in a selection of locations.

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Monthly climate averages - March

(from north to south)




























See also: Canada, the weather in February - April
The climate of Canada