Winter may officially end on Sunday, but that does not mean Toronto is in the open. Spring weather arrived just before the official start of the season, but this temporary postponement from the cold has ended as temperatures on Tuesday morning dropped back to freezing.
And it’s getting a whole lot worse, as Environment Canada on Tuesday morning issues a special weather statement for the city of Toronto, warning of the risk of freezing rain and strong winds coming our way on Wednesday.
The statement warns that “freezing rain is possible and can lead to icy surfaces,” and that “precipitation of up to 20 mm can result in local road emptying.” To make matters worse, the cold weather and icy rainfall will be accompanied by “strong easterly winds with gusts up to 70 km / h.”
Rain is expected to begin Tuesday night with temperatures at or above freezing before the temperature dips to -6 C during the night hours.
A 60 percent chance of rain or freezing rain is expected Wednesday morning, which is likely to be concentrated in areas north of Highway 401, while areas closer to Lake Ontario are expected to experience milder temperatures.
The precipitation is expected to continue into the afternoon, with the northern areas of the city risking further freezing rain. Winds of 40 km / h will sweep across the city, and some areas may see gusts of up to 70 km / h, while temperatures will be between +2 and -4 C.
The threat should be over late Wednesday afternoon, when rising temperatures stop the risk of freezing rain, though you should have the umbrella on hand as rain is expected to remain for the rest of the work week.
In terms of temperature, it should still be a bit of a roller coaster ride the rest of the week, swinging from the highest 8 C on Thursday down to 1 C again on Sunday.
But stick with Toronto. It’s almost over.