Toronto, it’s time to come out of hibernation. Spring comes early as “May-like” weather is expected for the rest of March, according to an Accuweather meteorologist.

Starting with a high of 12 C on Monday, the warm temperatures are expected to continue through the week — with a high of 17 C on Wednesday — and through to the end of the month, Accuweather meteorologist Maggie Johnson said.

“These temperatures are closer to the average highs in May,” Johnson said.

To put them in perspective, the average highs for mid-March in the city are 2.5 C to 2.7 C, with the end of March at 7.8 C.

For this T-shirt weather, Johnson says we can thank a jetstream from the Southwest that’s pumping out a lot of warm air, while the coldest air will be “locked out of the city and lodged in northern Canada, north of Hudson Bay, for most of March.” We’ll see just one or two days of just above freezing temperatures in March, predicted Johnson.

Sadly, with the warm weather comes the showers. An umbrella will come in handy this week with rainfall expected on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Not to worry; heading into the weekend, we’ll see plenty of sunshine. There’ll be a high of 10 C on Friday, 12 C on Saturday and 8 C on Sunday.

With files from Ramisha Farooq