Snow, freezing rain, cold temperatures kick off weekend in Ontario and Quebec; bitter wind chills to stick around throughout the week
Digital Reporter
Saturday, March 22, 2014, 8:10 PM -
Though spring has officially begun, you wouldn't know it by stepping outside in southern Ontario.
A low pressure system pushed across the region Friday night into Saturday morning, bringing less than 5 cm to communities along Lake Ontario. Heaviest amounts were seen in Cottage Country and the Ottawa Valley, where some were left digging out of as much as 15 to 20 cm.
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"Snowfall amounts were from Sarnia through the Toronto area to Kingston were considerably less as some of the precipitation fell as freezing rain, ice pellets and some rain," wrote Environment Canada in a weather summery.
The system made its way to Quebec Saturday afternoon, and rapidly pushed eastward throughout the day. A snowfall warning was issued for the Montreal Metropolitan Area, the Monteregie and the Eastern Townships, where up to 15 cm of snow was expected.
By Saturday evening, the system had tracked towards Atlantic Canada, giving them a quick taste of what's to come next week.
SPRING IS HERE: When will the warm-up begin?
Meanwhile, as the snow moves out of southern Ontario, cold air will push (back) in.
"An arctic front sliding through Ontario Saturday evening will be dropping temperatures to well-below seasonal through most of the work week," says Monica Vaswani, a meteorologist at The Weather Network. "Temperatures are expected to rebound closer to the seasonal mark by next weekend."
