Spring officially arrives this evening, and with the winter that most Canadians have experienced, many wonder what this new season has to offer. 

David Phillips, senior climatologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, says even he was shocked by the winter weather we experienced this year. 

"Not just in southern Ontario or southern Manitoba. It's nationwide from coast to coast to coast. It's sort of like the lost season," said Phillips. "Winter was cancelled. I thought it was just postponed, but it never came."

While March has been close to average, Phillips says the rest of the season was absolutely on fire. 

"I mean, December was over seven degrees warmer than normal; January was four degrees warmer than normal; February was almost seven degrees warmer than normal, and this March has been warmer than last year's, where there was not one hour of temperatures above the freezing mark, but it was still closer to average."

As we head into spring, the next two weeks will be on the cool side. 

"This week, you look at the temperatures across Manitoba and Winnipeg and see double-digit temperatures with negative values, even in the afternoon. At night, it seems like it's a return to January weather," said Phillips. "Typically, at this time, you have a high of zero and a low of minus 10. It's a more winterish feel to the week."

He says next week will still be chilly but closer to seasonal values, and as we head into April, we will experience a warmer-than-normal month. 

"Models suggest an easy beginning, and then things will warm up," Phillips explained. "Then we see the rest of the spring in May and the first part of June to be warmer than normal."

Phillips credits the El Nino for the warmer-than-average weather we've been experiencing. 

"It was supercharged. It was supersized this year," said Phillips. "In the last 80 years, it was the third strongest El Nino."

As for summer, Phillips says we can expect it to be a warmer-than-normal season.