Ski hills and beaches packed as Ottawa area enjoys unseasonably warm weather

Ottawa has enjoyed unseasonably warm temperatures over the past few days, with temperatures ranging between 20 and 29 C.

The warm weather prompted restaurants like Pub Italia on Preston Street to open its patio earlier than usual this spring.

"The patio opened a week ago," said server Habiba Dergham. "All the tables have been added, it feels like three times the volume. It feels so busy now."

Out in Chelsea, Que., Joshua Abraham straps into his snowboard for a day on the slopes at Camp Fortune. On this warm sunny weekend, he's left the shirt at home.

"I just needed the vitamin D and I took my shirt off, I don’t know," he chuckled. 

The snowboarder joined hundreds of people on the ski lift, looking to squeeze in as many runs as he can for the final weekend of the season. Closing day for Camp Fortune is Sunday. 

"It’s beautiful, you can’t beat this. It’s rare you get 20 degrees and you get to be on the hill, you know," Abraham said.

While some chose to dig their heels into the snow, others like the Quillah family opted to dig into the sand at Mooney’s Bay.

"We just wanted to get outside," Alisa Quillah said, out building sand castles with her two daughters and husband. "Capitalizing on the nice weather this weekend and what better place than the playground and the beach."

However, don't expect the heat to stay.

Environment Canada senior climatologist David Phillips says we will see normal spring-like temperatures next week.

"A Colorado low is moving into the province," Phillips said. "It’s going to come and pull cooler air down, so come say Tuesday we will see temperatures not 27 C but 7 C for a high."

While we may be in for cooler temperatures next week, those in the region are riding the heat wave as long as they can.

"Got to take it for what it is and thank Mother Nature for giving us a taste of summer you know," Abraham said.