March has arrived and the start of spring is inching closer, but it appears winter isn’t ready to release its cold grip anytime soon.
Another storm is expected to hit Toronto and the GTA later this week, and The Weather Network’s spring forecast suggests the incoming winter wallop is something we should be getting used to in southern Ontario.
Spring officially arrives on March 20, but according to the spring forecast, March and parts of April will bring periods of colder-than-normal temperatures and “messy winter weather.”
“Extended periods of early spring-like weather during the heart of winter provided false hope that spring was going to arrive early this year,” reads the spring forecast. “An active storm track is expected across southern Ontario through at least April.”
The colder-than-normal spring conditions are expected to trend across most of the country.
“The primary driver of the spring weather pattern is the fading La Niña pattern in the Pacific Ocean,” says The Weather Network meteorologists. “La Niña is associated with cooler than normal ocean water temperatures near the Equator and to the west of South America.”
The forecast suggests the risk of flooding this spring will be lower than usual due to an extended winter thaw that reduced snow and ice in waterways. Flood risk could increase in late spring due to a snowy March.
The season should end on a warmer and drier note as we push closer to summer.
Potential winter storm coming to Toronto, GTA later this week
“There are indications that it could be 20 plus centimetres of snow, but a lot can change between now and Friday night,” says Taylor, adding there could be some rain mixing in when the storm arrives. “Temperatures could be on the milder side, so that would definitely change the amount of snow we get.”
Taylor says it should be windy and Friday and Saturday. It will all be followed by a slushy mess on Sunday with a forecasted high of 6 C to close out the weekend.
It should be relatively calm before the storm gets here, Wednesday calls for a high of 2 C and a chance of flurries. Thursday will be mainly cloudy with sunny breaks and a high near 4 C.