'No one is surprised': Sask. gets snow to start long weekend

May long weekend snow in Sask. WATCH: Snowflakes were falling in several regions across the province to kick off the holiday weekend. Donovan Maess reports.

While the May long weekend is known as the unofficial start of summer, oftentimes in Saskatchewan, the holiday weekend comes with cold weather.

This year’s weekend is no different, with parts of the province experiencing snow on Thursday night and Friday.

Douglas Walker and his dog misMolly woke up to a layer of snow on the ground at Kenosee Lake on Friday morning.

“If you’re from here, no one is surprised when it snows,” he said. “But you think anecdotally it happens every year.”

In Fort Qu’Appelle, campers braved the elements in preparation for the weekend ahead.

“We set up in pure rain. That was fun,” said Michelle Roberts. “But it was nicer than last year.”

“In my experience, May long weekend is always unreliable for good weather,” said Robin Christensen

“One year it will be good, next year it will be like this,” said Cory Barkhouse. “We’re used to it by now.”

Despite the chilly weather, Sask. Parks is ready to welcome campers for another season.

“It’s been a long winter,” said Dan French from Sask Parks. “Everybody is itching to get out, including our staff. Our doors are open and we’re ready to go.”

Regina’s Joanne Goulet Golf Course had multiple golfers cancel tee times prior to Friday’s chilly weather. Head professional Brian Dueck said long weekends are usually great times for golfers to hit the links.

“Our busiest time of play is on long weekends,” he said. “Definitely we’d like to see good weather so people can come use the golf course.”

CTV Regina Meteorologist Bradlyn Oakes said while it seems as though May long weekend is always cold, that is not actually the case.

“I think we all just assume and brace for bad weather because it is associated with the unofficial start of summer,” said Oakes. “But temperatures are warming through the weekend to make it quite pleasant.”

Oakes forecasts the cold will not stick around too long. With the temperatures hitting the high teens and into the 20s through the majority of the weekend, there will be time to enjoy warmer temperatures.