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Even though spring has officially arrived and Canadians may occasionally get a small taste of warmth, it's going to be a while before you can put away the parkas.

"Forget what the calendar says, this is Canada," says Environment Canada climatologist David Phillips. "Ten per cent of snowfall happens in spring."

Canada is the snowiest country in the world, the second coldest country and winter is the longest season.

"Last year we had the earliest and warmest spring on record," says Phillips. "It was a gift."

By the end of a nice spring, Canadians believe it's the norm and only remember the last year. However, not only does it usually snow in April, but a third of the time it snows in May. That's more of what we can expect for this spring, he says.

Phillips predicts a colder than normal April for everywhere west of the Ottawa Valley. That will include more snow and April showers. East of the Ottawa Valley he's predicting normal conditions. He says it's much of the same for May and June with it to be colder than normal in the West and normal in the East.

As for Atlantic Canada, which has been battered by storms almost every week during the fall and winter, Phillips says spring will arrive there last.

"More than a quarter of Moncton's snow comes in the spring," says Phillips. Water still has ice in it and therefore prevents the Atlantic provinces from warming up faster.

But there's some good news. Even though it's difficult to predict what summer will be like this far away, Phillips says the models show a warmer than normal summer.

"We feel we are owed warmer weather, but nature takes its sweet time," he says. While we may not be able to sit on a patio in shorts tomorrow, "everyday it becomes more difficult for winter to return."

"Spring is like the buffet of weather types, everything can happen," says Phillips. "But I'm not going to write the obituary on winter just yet."