Coats replace shorts as a chilly, snowy wake-up call greets Ontario
Colder air will sweep across Ontario in a hurry over the next couple of days, culminating in a threat for snow in southern parts of the province
A sprawling low-pressure system slowly traversing the Great Lakes will drop very heavy snows on communities in northwestern Ontario, while folks across the south await the return of chilly temperatures and a chance for snow brushes to replace short-sleeves—if only for a little while, anyway.
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A large low-pressure system will take its time moving into Ontario over the next couple of days, dragging south plenty of cold air to replace the summer-like warmth many of us saw last week.
Northern Ontario
Travel troubles continue in northern Ontario, where a moisture-laden system running into a slug of cold air will lead to 30-50+ cm of snow for a large swath of the province’s northwest. Closer to the track of the low, temperatures hovering around freezing will lead to a wintry-mix.
Significant ice accretion is also possible around the Thunder Bay area and north of Lake Superior. Folks in these areas could see a good few millimetres of ice accretion, especially around Geraldton, who could see up to 10-15 mm of ice.
Several freezing rain and winter storm warnings have been issued by Environment and Climate Change Canada.
Travel along the region’s highways, including the Trans-Canada, will be extremely difficult during periods of heavy wintry precipitation. Anyone travelling east or west through the region should use caution and plan for disruptions accordingly.
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Southern Ontario
Temperatures will steadily fall through the day Monday behind this system’s cold front, with chilly conditions settling in by early evening and continuing to drop into Tuesday. Daytime highs will only reach the single digits on Tuesday, falling back to conditions more common of mid-March than mid-April.
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The arrival of cold air will fuel the potential for snow showers across parts of southern Ontario on Tuesday.
Folks throughout the traditional snowbelts have the best chance for seeing accumulations, with 5-10 cm of snow possible under the heaviest bursts. Conversational wet flurries are more likely closer to the Greater Toronto area and the rest of southern Ontario.
Temperatures will slowly rebound after this dose of below-seasonal conditions, but certainly not back to the summer-like conditions we saw this past week.
Changeable conditions are likely through the remainder of April and into early May, with no temperature extremes in either direction expected for the duration.
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Stay tuned to The Weather Network for the latest on conditions across Ontario.
