Normally, April in this part of Ontario sees snow still covering the ground, with high temperatures averaging about 10 degrees Celsius. But while there were few snowflurries last Friday, new records have been set for this time of year, with temperatures expected to reach the mid- 20s again today, and local folks already busy in their gardens and enjoying an unusually early start on their golf game.

“It’s unusually warm for this time of year,” said David Phillips, a senior climatologist with Environment Canada. “We’ve seen temperatures in the Orangeville and Guelph area that have been maybe a dozen or more degrees warmer than it should be for this time of year.”

Mr. Phillips said the weather we are having is not typically Canadian but southerly weather that is being pumped north.

“All that heat, the energy from the warm air, doesn’t warm the air,” said Mr. Phillips, “because it’s melting the snow and melting the ice and thawing out the ground.”

This year those things happened in March, prompting a fast forward to the type of weather typically seen in June.

According to Environment Canada, March is known for drastic changes in temperature, with Arctic masses battling the arrival of warmer spring air from the south. This usually produces storms and a combination of rain, freezing rain and snow to large portions of Ontario.

“It didn’t snow at all in March,” said Mr. Phillips. “We’ve never seen that.”

According to Environment Canada, records were broken for least snowfall and least total precipitation.

But Mr. Phillips predicted that over the next few days the temperature will fall and there will be rain and storms.

“We’re getting some needed moisture,” said Mr. Phillips. “You don’t want these 20-degree temperatures without precipitation because that’ll clearly get farmers annoyed and water levels will drop.”

He has predicted that both April and May will be warm and dry – good weather for outdoor activities and farming.

“The summer coming up looks like it will have not a lot of rain, and warmer temperatures,” said Mr. Phillips. “It’s hopefully going to make up for the summers of the last couple years.”

He said the recent warm temperatures are phenomenal and unusual but not necessarily troubling. If the 10-degree difference had happened in July the results would have been much worse.

“You don’t see the droughts you would see on the prairies,” he said. “The rain in the coming week will provide us with the moisture we need.”

Meanwhile, most area golf courses have been open since the first of the month.

Shelburne Golf and Country Club opened for business April 2, a date general manager Megan Young said was “way ahead of schedule” compared to other years.

“Last year, we weren't open until April 18.”

Ms. Young also remarked on the condition of the course and how dry it has been. “We're a month ahead, in regards to the shape of the course. This is one of the only years I can remember when, on opening day, we had the carts going out.”

Orangeville Golf & Country Club manager Ken Manwell said the March 31 opening of his course was the earliest since one spring in the mid-1990s, when golfers were teeing off on March 25.

He said 57 people showed up on day one, followed by 64 and 200 on days two and three, respectively. He added the warm and sunny climes in 2010 are a welcome contrast to the previous two years.

“2008 and 2009 weren’t the best years,” said Mr. Manwell. “We lost a lot of business last year because of rain and the forecast of rain.

“The Farmer’s Almanac says if March comes in like a lamb, it goes out like a lion. This year it came in like a lamb and out like a lamb.”

It signalled a promising start for the course, which this year has taken on a teaching pro, Liam Winegard.

The balmy weather wasn’t much of a surprise for Scott Myers, who turned up Saturday to play a round. His past birthdays, on April 14, have seen a variety of conditions. “On my birthday, I’ve either snowmobiled on the lake, skated on the lake or swam in the lake. I’ve seen it all.”