Ontario: Messy mix winds down to start off the New Year
theweathernetwork.com
Monday, December 31, 2018, 8:30 PM - The effects of a New Year's Eve storm were set to linger somewhat into the first day of 2019, and in the wake of the storm, we'll be looking at a chilly start to the new year, as well -- but is that the start of a colder pattern? We peek ahead into 2019, below.
WINTER IS HERE: How will El Niño shape Canada's upcoming winter? Find out with The Weather Network’s 2019 Winter Forecast | FORECAST & MAPS HERE
WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS:
- Freezing rain in eastern Ontario likely to have transitioned to rain by Tuesday morning, tapering off through the morning
- Snow lingers into Tuesday for parts of cottage country, northeast
- Strongest winds will have died down by the dawn hour on the Niagara Peninsula
- Latest watches and warnings HERE
RINGING IN 2019 WITH RAINY/SNOWY SYSTEM
After a period of relatively quiet weather across southern Ontario, the last hours of 2018 were marked by a stormy system rolling across the province, with a wide variety of precipitation types across the region, ranging from rain for much of the south and southwest, a period of freezing rain in the east, and snow in cottage country and the Nickel Belt.
Only a few tapering showers should be left in most of the south by Tuesday morning, the freezing rain having transitioned to rain overnight in the east, but a few lingering snowflakes are possible in more northern areas, where some 15 cm is likely to have fallen by the time things taper off.
TEMPERATURE RISE AND FALL CONTINUES
While temperatures will dive again in the wake of this potent system, if you're hoping for the winter cold to settle in, you might have a bit longer to wait, as the pattern shifts to allow another surge of milder, Pacific air to work its way into the province from the west.
"Brief blast of Arctic air for Wednesday, but mild weather will spread back into the region for Thursday and Friday," says The Weather Network meteorologist Dr. Doug Gillham. "Closely watching a system that will track near the U.S. east coast at the end of the week and weekend, but at this point most models have trended too far south and east for this system to have an impact on the region (but still a low confidence forecast). Mild weather expected through next weekend."
