'It was a really long winter': Winnipeggers thankful as weather starts to warm up

After a seemingly never-ending season of snow and rain, the weather is finally shaping up and Manitobans are taking advantage.

"The snow came early and stayed late and there's just lots of it," said Jason, who was taking his family to the carnival on Saturday afternoon. "It kind of felt like driving around in a little hamster cage with how high the snow was."

Luckily for residents, after the second wettest April on record, Winnipeg is finally back to seasonal temperatures.

On Saturday, the city reached a high of 22 degrees.

Reinforcing that spring feeling, the Winnipeg Goldeyes held its first pre-season game on Saturday.

"Finally! Yeah, it was a really long winter and after the last two seasons that we had mostly playing on the road. [It’s] so good to see the players on the field again," said Andrew Collier, the Goldeye's general manager.

Sports-hungry fans were happy to spend the afternoon in the sun, not bothered by the gusting wind.

"Super excited, just nice to finally be able to get out of the house, and it's always fun to just be in the park," said Wes Pauls, who was also attending the game.

Businesses are also happy with the change in weather.

Paul Clerkin, co-owner of Stone Angel Brewing, said the extended winter stopped the patio -- a major source of business -- from opening.

"Most years, I'd have people on the patio around St. Patrick's Day. We're now heading for a month and a half past that," said Clerkin. "We really had our first patio day two days ago, so it's great. We just need the weather to stabilize and stay warm."

As for the Winnipeggers who were hampered by the stormy stretch, they aren't taking the nice weather for granted.

"It's very good! I love it," said Diana Wiebe, who was enjoying the day by walking around The Forks with family.