Yellowknife (Apr 12/06) - Yellowknife basked in warm weather last month, shattering record temperatures by six degrees.

The average daily temperature in the capital climbed to -10.9C, well above the -17.3C expected for March, according to figures released by Environment Canada last Wednesday.

Ed Swanky shovels slush out of his driveway during warm and sunny weather on Thursday. Yellowknife posted record high temperatures in March. - Chris Windeyer/NNSL photo

The mercury climbed to a balmy 5.2C on March 24.

"(Yellowknife) had the warmest winter and March was just an extension of that," said Curt Dixon, an outreach officer at Environment Canada in Edmonton.

Canada as a whole recorded its warmest winter ever, Dixon said.

"The bullseye on that in terms of degrees above normal was the Mackenzie Valley," he said.

The Arctic Ridge, a wall of frigid air originating from the High Arctic, stayed put over the western part of the territory, while a "blocking pattern" of warmer air stayed put over Yellowknife, said Dixon.

Temperatures in Inuvik, Norman Wells and Fort Simpson were 0.5C to 2.6C below normal.

Despite the warm temperatures, only some winter roads and ice crossings are closing earlier, said Department of Transportation spokesperson Bob Kelly.

"Overall, it's been a pretty normal spring," he said.

The Mackenzie Valley highway closed Friday, while some winter access roads in the Deh Cho area closed a couple of weeks ago because the warm weather was causing early wear and tear, Kelly said.

The Fort Providence ice crossing is expected to close to smaller vehicles today.

The warm weather doesn't automatically translate into a boom for air transport companies, said Teri Arychuk of Air Tindi.

Smaller exploration camps don't have the money budgeted to justify flying in supplies. And Air Tindi doesn't have planes big enough to haul supplies to the mines, she said.

"When people assume it's great for us when the roads shut down, it's not."

Arychuk said her company's planes are usually off the ice by mid-May, although it might be sooner this year.

For now, flights continue as usual, but Arychuk said the company will keep a close eye on ice conditions.

The weather office forecasts colder than average temperatures for April, but March's mild weather continued into April.

Shovelling a heady mix of meltwater and gravel out of his 51st Avenue driveway, Ed Swanky said he's not surprised this past March is the warmest on record.

"We've been lucky this year. It hasn't been too cold, hasn't been a lot of snow," he said.

"It was warm for Caribou Carnival and it's usually -30C, -40C."

Over at the basketball court outside Weledeh Catholic school, Grade 9 students Brad Mercredi, Matt Whitefair and Tanner Ross shot a game of 21 on a section of basketball court they carved out of the snow.

The three spent a half hour shovelling out a lane of bare court from the foot-thick snow, although they've also played basketball directly on top of the snow pack.

"It wasn't really working out, so we shovelled it," Mercredi said.