Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement about the January thaw this weekend in Huron County and the following areas:
City of Toronto
Windsor – Essex – Chatham-Kent
Sarnia – Lambton
Elgin
London – Middlesex
Simcoe – Delhi – Norfolk
Dunnville – Caledonia – Haldimand
Oxford – Brant
Niagara
City of Hamilton
Halton – Peel
York – Durham
Huron – Perth
Waterloo – Wellington
Dufferin – Innisfil
Grey – Bruce
Barrie – Orillia – Midland
Belleville – Quinte – Northumberland
Kingston – Prince Edward
Peterborough – Kawartha Lakes
Stirling – Tweed – South Frontenac
Bancroft – Bon Echo Park
Brockville – Leeds and Grenville
City of Ottawa
Gatineau
Prescott and Russell
Cornwall – Morrisburg
Smiths Falls – Lanark – Sharbot Lake
Parry Sound – Muskoka
Haliburton
Renfrew – Pembroke – Barry’s Bay
Algonquin
Burk’s Falls – Bayfield Inlet.
A warm front associated with a disturbance from Texas is expected to track northeast across Southern and Eastern Ontario today, then into Quebec this evening. In the wake of the warm front, a very mild and fairly moist air mass from the Gulf of Mexico will pay a visit, giving a taste of spring to the regions into this weekend.
Current indications suggest rain fall amounts in the 5 to 10 mm range will be common today with local amounts of 15 to 20 mm possible mainly over regions in Southern Ontario. Freezing rain is possible near and northeast of a line from Simcoe County to Brockville, and freezing rain warnings are in effect for a swath of regions from Algonquin Park into the Ottawa Valley where freezing rain is likely.
Freezing rain will turn over to plain rain in all regions by this evening as temperatures rise well above the zero degree mark in the wake of the warm front.
On Saturday very mild air ushered in by southerly winds will help temperatures rise to the double digits in many areas. These temperatures will be some 10 to 15 degrees above normal values across the entire district. In fact, afternoon temperatures in a few locales Saturday may actually reach the mid teens, especially in snow-free areas, making it feel much more like late April.
As a result of the very mild temperatures, a number of new maximum temperature records may be set today in Southern Ontario and especially Saturday across both Southern and Eastern Ontario. Most if not all of the snow on the ground across Southern Ontario and in southern parts of Eastern Ontario will melt by Saturday.
A cold front from the west will move across Southern and Eastern Ontario on Sunday, and in its wake, the cold air of winter will bring this January thaw to an end by early next week.
Please monitor the latest forecasts and warnings from Environment Canada at www.weatheroffice.gc.ca.
