‘TEMPERATURE ROLLER-COASTER’: Meteorologist says wait is on for warmth

Remember when temperatures reached 21 C last Wednesday — the day before the official start to spring — in Toronto?

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Well, that weather anomaly in mid-March — making it feel more like mid-May — was followed by a light dusting of snow overnight Sunday in T.O.

So, in other words, don’t think we’re headed into an early spring.

“It felt like May and it spoiled us and made us think that the warm weather’s here to stay and it’s not,” said The Weather Network’s meteorologist Doug Gillham.

“Spring is never a straight line from winter to summer. And people say when will we have consistent spring weather and my response always is, ‘the only thing consistent about spring is that it’s inconsistent.’ What we conveniently forget every year is that over 80% of the Aprils in Toronto include snow.

“It would be unwise for me to say this is the final flakes of the season because most years are not,” he added. “The back of winter has been broken. We are going in the right direction but it’s never a straight line from winter to spring in this part of the country.”

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In fact, Gillham says more flurries are expected this week in Toronto, with a max of 2 cm accumulation,. He doesn’t expect consistent double-digit temperatures until mid-April at the earliest.

“We’re going to see flurries over the next couple of days,” he said. “Will see quick bursts of snow. They won’t amount to much. They’ll just make us grumpy. And this weekend we’re concerned about freezing rain in the GTA so there is a significant system that won’t be snow. It’ll probably be rain and freezing rain.”

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Until mid-April, Gillham predicts “we’re still going to have more of these rude interruptions at times. They just become less harsh and maybe less frequent. But again just highlighting spring is always a temperature roller-coaster. We’re still at risk for single-digit highs all the way into May.”

Gillham said we may even get a delay of cherry blossom season in Toronto.

“Cherry blossoms in southern Ontario typically come out around the first week of May,” he said. “They can can come out as early as April, really dependent on the spring. We expect the blossoms to be a little bit later this year because the ground has been frozen for so long. We’re not ahead of schedule. These ups and down are normal. Don’t be surprised. Spring tests our patience. That’s just what it does.”