One of the most powerful Chinooks in Canadian history is poised to hit Nova Scotia this coming Easter weekend, carrying with it summer-like temperatures and bringing relief to snow-weary Bluenosers.

Chinooks consist of a dry, warming wind from the Pacific Ocean that occasionally reaches as far as Alberta or Montana, but in rare cases a Chinook can get caught in the jet stream and be delivered to eastern parts of North America. This “east-reacher Chinook”, so dubbed by meteorologist B. Uried-Deep of the Environment Canada Weather Office, will be the first to reach Nova Scotia in over 75 years.

“We’re expecting record temperatures – at least 20 °C, and potentially 25 °C or higher. And we can expect the snow to retreat somewhat, as a strong Chinook can make snow one foot deep almost vanish in one day. The snow partly melts and partly evaporates in the dry wind,” he said.

Of course, it’s not only the meteorologists who will be putting the word out about the unexpected gift of a summer weekend in April following a hard winter. Frankie MacDonald of Sydney is expected to issue his standard YouTube forecast soon. We reached him for comment.

“Yes, there’s going to be a major Chinook hitting Nova Scotia this weekend, April 3rd 2015, April 4th 2015, and April 6th 2015. It’s going to bring a lot of warm wind, and it’s going to eat a lot of snow. People of Nova Scotia, be prepared!” he cautioned.

MacDonald explicitly advises Nova Scotians on how to be so prepared: “Have your swim trunks ready, have your bikinis ready, have your sunscreen ready, have your picnic baskets ready, have your umbrellas ready, have your beach radios ready, have your volleyballs and nets ready. Buy your cases of lemonade, buy your cases of water, buy your bags of ice. Buy your ice cream cones and buy your ice cream. Buy your sunglasses and buy your straw hats. Buy your flip-flops and buy your Crocs.”

Local automotive shops expect to see an upswing in business as people shed their noisy studded tires for their smooth-riding all-seasons. Guud Rench of Bluenose Tire says that people should make appointments sooner rather than later, or else expect to see significant waits: “Everybody is so happy to get their winter tires off at the first sign of spring that they all come in at once. When this happens, you need to be the early bird to catch the worm.”

Halifax Mayor Mike Savage issued a press release in anticipation of the balmy weather. “We prayed for Mother Nature to rescue us from this winter, and She listened. I am proud to announce that we will no longer be going forward with the Contingency Plan.”

The Contingency Plan was debated in secret during the March 3rd meeting of Regional Council. Details of what was debated were not released, however many 10-13 year old girls received by mail written requests not to leave Halifax Regional Municipality until further notice.