More days of rain forecast for Hamilton after ‘hugely disappointing April’

Brace for more rain and cool days this week as a cold low" hovers over the city.

It's been a hugely disappointing April in Hamilton," says David Phillips, a senior climatologist with Environment Canada. We are seeing a large dose of cool and wet April weather after an early gift of dry summerlike days early in the month."

A cold low" is hanging over the area like an unwanted house guest, he adds.

The cold low is a trough of cold wet arctic air coming from the north, which tends to hover over an area longer than weather patterns that blow east to west, Phillips says.

Environment Canada is forecasting mostly rain and low temperatures as daytime highs hit 14 C only once in the next seven days.

The misery continues, says Phillips. We might have another 10 days of cooler weather, and it's not the minimum temperatures that are disappointing - it's the maximum temperatures, which should be about 15 C.

Don't let the early sunshine on Wednesday fool you. Clouds and showers are expected in the afternoon with a daytime high of 11 C, says the weather service.

Thursday looks to be the best day, with a forecast of sunny skies and a high of 13 C.

Then, the system will bring clouds and about a 40 per cent chance of showers for the first few days of May next week.

The overnight lows are supposed to settle between 4 and 8 C.

If you're looking for flowers, Phillips says, May is likely to show gradual warming - be patient for those summerlike days to return.

Jennifer Moore is an editorial assistant at The Spectator. jmoore@thespec.com