Freezing rain, snow may hamper start of Ontario’s holiday weekend
A system tracking through Ontario to begin the long weekend may disrupt some travel plans across the region as some areas deal with freezing rain and snow into Saturday.
While snow totals and ice accretions will prove more annoying than anything, the threat for slick roads could stretch your travel plans or last-minute shopping excursions that much longer.
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Through Saturday morning: Messy wintry mix moves in
A weak system trekking across the Great Lakes will bring a grab bag of wintry precipitation to southern Ontario through Saturday.
Rain pushing into southwestern Ontario late Friday night will spread east toward the Golden Horseshoe through the overnight hours.
Cold air lingering at the surface will allow precipitation to transition to freezing rain or ice pellets on Saturday morning. Freezing drizzle is possible in and around the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA).
The greatest risk for a glaze of ice will fall across higher elevations—including areas just north of the 407 toward Georgian Bay and Lake Huron.
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Farther north toward cottage country, colder air through a deeper layer of the atmosphere will allow for precipitation to fall as snow. Accumulations are possible around Shelburne, Orangeville, and over toward Bancroft north of Highway 7.
Any freezing drizzle around the GTHA on Saturday morning will quickly switch over to plain old rain as temperatures rise above freezing through the day. Even so, plan ahead for possible delays and slow-going traffic if you have to travel or run errands on Saturday morning.
Folks across most of southern Ontario dreaming of a white Christmas may have to find their wintry scenes in movies and books instead.
It’ll be tough to hold on to any fresh snow for Christmas morning, as temperatures look to warm well into the single digits on Sunday and remain above the freezing mark into Monday.
For millions of Canadians this year, a green Christmas it is!
Header image courtesy of @JamesSLees via X.
Be sure to check back for the latest weather updates across Ontario.
