Another province records its first 20 C this year. Here's where
We still haven't reached the start of spring on the calendar but we continue to wrack up 20-degree days in parts of Canada
March is certainly coming in more like a lamb than a lion in southern Ontario.
On Saturday, several communities recorded temperatures in the upper teens as a result of a strong ridge of high pressure pumping in southerly air from the Gulf of Mexico.
SEE ALSO: March came in like a lion, but can and will it go 'out like a lamb?'
Three of the locales even hit the coveted 20-degree mark--Ontario's first occurrence of that magnitude in 2026. But who was the first?
Vineland, Ont., is the winner this year, claiming the province's first 20 C by 11 a.m. EST. The small community then peaked at 20.3 C, alongside St. Catharines/Niagara District Airport.
Downtown Hamilton also hit the 20-degree mark (20.4 C)--its second-earliest on record. Its earliest was documented on March 6, 1876.
Those temperatures are more reflective of mid-May than early March.
Mild Saturday in southern Ontario
Port Weller: 19.2 C
Delhi: 18.6 C
London: 15.8 C
Windsor: 17.4 C
Toronto Pearson: 17.4 C
Looking at Ontario's earliest 20-degree days in the year, March 7 is about on par for locales such as Hamilton, London and Toronto.
But March 7 still falls well short of the earliest reading of 20 degrees in Ontario: Jan. 25 in Welland, Ont.
Earlier this year, Alberta was the first province to hit 20 C. On Feb. 4, Lethbridge, Alta., soared to a balmy 20.6 C, a notable, but not unheard of, accomplishment for this time of the year.
With files from Tyler Hamilton and Rhythm Reet, meteorologists at The Weather Network.
Thumbnail courtesy of Getty Images/Vera Petrunina/1191394418-170667a.