New Brunswick shatters weather records

Weather records were shattered all overNew Brunswick on Tuesday, and may be again today.

The hotspot Wednesday was St. Stephen where the temperature hit 24.6 C degrees. There were all-time highs for March in Fredericton at 23.9 C, in Moncton at 21 C and Bathurst at 22.8 C.

Its never been this warm at this time of the year in the province, according to Environment Canada.

Senior climatologist David Phillips called the heat wave "unusual," and said it's being caused by a mass of warm air from the United States.

Phillips said that forecasters at this time of year are usually dealing with wind chill readings, not humidex readings.

But he warned that wintry weather isn't over just yet.

"We have never even seen in Moncton a period where we didn't have snow after the 20th of March. In fact, upwards of 20 plus per cent of your snow comes after the first day of spring," Phillips said.

"So enjoy it, wonder about it, but don't be seduced into thinking that it's strictly muscle shirts and tank top weather quite yet."

But, Phillips said it's uncommon to see a mini heat wave that last so long and is so intense.

Flood forecasters and some food producers are keeping a close eye on the effects of this unusual March weather.

But so far, they say it's not a major problem.

The sap run has slowed to a trickle at Little Mactquac Maples in Scotch Settlement.

Owner Paul Reynolds said the taps dry out in the heat.

"We got maybe 20 gallons of sap," he said.

"We should have been gathering in the range of 300 gallons."

Reynolds said the run has been light since the season started two weeks ago because of temperature swings. But he's not ready to write off the season quite yet.

"It looks in the forecast like we're going to have some cold nights and warm days coming up in the next week or so," Reynolds said.

Nashwaak River watch

The heat has melted a lot of snow over the past couple of days.

That prompted the provincial government's River Watch to issue a warning for possible flooding on the Nashwaak River near Durham Bridge.

"We know that there are a couple of small ice jams. We don't see that holding any appreciable amount of water," River Watch co-ordinator Karl Wilmot said.

The Nashwaak River still has several stretches of solid ice cover, he said, so the risk continues.

But Wilmot said that with the size of the snow pack and a lack of precipitation, it doesn't look like the quick melt will exacerbate spring flooding.