Warm weekend blows away decades-old Hamilton temperature record

Hamilton's warm Saturday blew past a high-temperature record set 36 years ago, and Sunday's high beat out a 33-year-old record.

It reached 13.2 C at the Hamilton airport on Saturday, according to Environment Canada. That's a hefty 4 degrees warmer than it was on Feb. 18 in 1981. The high temperature that day was 9.1 C.

A couple of years earlier, the day had been much colder: Feb. 18 in 1979 was –24 C. 

It's hard to imagine with how much the snow was melting this weekend, but there was 57 centimetres of snow on the ground on Feb. 18, 2007.

Sunday's high was forecast to reach 11 C. But at 2 p.m., the temperature at the airport was 12.6 C, higher than the record of 12 C set on Feb. 19 in 1984. 

Trudy Kidd, a meterologist with Environment Canada, says that warm air coming from the southern U.S. is causing these extra-high temperatures.

Hamilton police issue ice safety warning

The warmth prompted police to issue a warning Saturday that ice was not safe to walk, skate or fish on this weekend. 

"The ice may be of varying thickness and the Hamilton Police want all residents to enjoy a safe and happy Family Day weekend without tragedy," said Staff Sgt. Nancy Lantz in a media statement. 

A Hamilton man fell through the ice Saturday at a conservation area in Norfolk County; his body was recovered Sunday afternoon.

What are you doing with your sunny spring-like weekend? You can share photos with us at @CBCHamilton on Twitter and Instagram, or by checking out our Facebook page.