Ontario's Weather Forecast Says Messy Systems Will Bring Rain & Up To 15cm Of Snow This Week
It's going to be a messy start to winter. ❄️🌧
A person walks in the snow in Ontario.
December is here, and it's bringing a mess of weather to Ontario.
Ontario's weather forecast says back-to-back messy systems will bring rain and up to 15 centimetres of snow to parts of the province this week to kick off the winter season.
December 1 marks the start of meteorological winter in the northern hemisphere, and the province is definitely getting a taste of wintry weather this week.
According to The Weather Network, a round of storms will kick off the month in Ontario, and depending on where you are, rain or wet snow may fall.
On Friday, a "weak disturbance" will move into southern Ontario, bringing rain for most of the region throughout the day. Around 10-20 millimetres is expected before the precipitation eases later on Saturday.
Rain will be the dominant type of precipitation, TWN says, however, some could see a bit of snow, especially higher elevations near Orangeville, Shelburne, and Owen Sound.
Friday night into Saturday, the snow will continue in those areas, but will also move into Gravenhurst, Bancroft, and Ottawa.
"For the rest of southern Ontario rain is expected to continue through Saturday, before tapering fully through the evening hours," says TWN.
In all, areas that stay cooler and pick up the snow are predicted to see about 3-5+ centimetres, with locally higher amounts up to 15 centimetres between Friday and Saturday.
According to the weather outlet, freezing rain won't be much of an issue as there won't be much temperature overlap.
Things will get chillier next week for the province before turning milder for the weekend.
Winter in Ontario 2023
A recent Canada winter forecast from The Weather Network made predictions for what winter 2023-2024 in Ontario would look like.
Despite this winter featuring one of the strongest El Nino events on record, TWN says that the season in Ontario won't be a typical El Nino winter, which usually comes with above-normal temperatures and minimal snow.
According to the outlook, a mild start to the season is expected in the province, with less snow than normal during the weeks leading up to the holidays, especially in the south and for cities including London, Hamilton, Toronto, and Ottawa.
If you're hoping for a white Christmas, however, the forecast says that a more wintry pattern could develop around the holidays.
And while the season will start out mild, it could end "with a vengeance" — things could turn much colder come January and February, with the possibility of some substantial snowstorms in the forecast.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.