After shivering through a colder-than-normal April, Winnipeggers shouldn't be too quick to pack away the sweaters yet.

Spring is apparently still in hibernation.

"I just don’t like what May presents. You deserve warmer weather," Environment Canada's senior climatologist David Phillips told CBC Information Radio host Marcy Markusa.

The temperatures are expected to be three to four degrees colder than they should be, he said, but added there will be lots of sun.

And that sun is brighter and staying out longer than it did in April, so "grab for every little small mercy," Phillips said.

April's temperature averaged out to be 0.3 C, the first time in a long time the monthly average in the city has been above the freezing mark.

The historical April average is 4.4 C.

"So it was more than four degrees colder than it should have been," Phillips said.

But, if you want to reach for those small mercies, the April 2013 average was -2.1 C.

The normal temperature for this time of year is a daytime high of 16 C and overnight low of 3 C.

But the forecast by CBC meteorologist John Sauder doesn't call for anything close to that until next Wednesday, when temperatures could reach 14 C.

And overnight lows are still lingering around 0 C and in some cases, –1 C.

There is some hope for next winter, though. Phillips said a predicted El Nino could make for a milder winter.

El Nino is a short-term climate disruption caused by unusually high temperatures on the surface of the Pacific Ocean near the equator. That can mean warmer temperatures drifting through western Canada.

For example, the El Nino of 1997-98 produced the sixth warmest winter in Canada in 66 years.

But that's not always guaranteed.

In Winnipeg, eight of the past 11 El Ninos made for warmer winters but three were colder.

We'll just have to wait and see, Phillips said.