A risk for freezing rain will accompany a pattern change sweeping into southern Ontario to begin the new workweek.
Warmer air pushing into the region will clash with stubborn cold air clinging to the surface, raising the risk for icing on Monday. Stay alert for slick roads across the northern Greater Toronto Area (GTA), cottage country, and throughout eastern Ontario.
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Monday: Beware icy commutes
A clipper system dragging warmer air north of the border will lend southern Ontario a few days of milder temperatures before we take a dip again by the second half of the week.
Cold air is stubborn, and the warm air is struggling to scour it out of the region. As a result, we’re expecting freezing rain to fall throughout the northern edge of the GTA, cottage country, and into eastern Ontario. The greatest threats for freezing rain will be around Orangeville, Barrie, the northern GTA, and into Peterborough.
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Expect slow, messy commutes on Monday as road conditions will be slippery.
Ice accretion in the northern GTA will coincide with the morning commute, with ice continuing into the early afternoon hours before transitioning to plain old rain.
Central Ontario and the Nickel Belt could see icing continue through the evening, but fresh snow and little ice accumulation should limit the slippery impacts. Ottawa is looking at about 5 cm of snow before the freezing rain risk moves in, primarily Monday night.
The rest of southern and southwestern Ontario will have a rainy Monday on tap as temperatures remain above freezing.
Another system expected to develop over the U.S. Midwest on Tuesday will track into southern Ontario with widespread rain Tuesday night. There’s also the potential for snow for some areas well to the west of the storm track as a cold front approaches the region.
A strong cold front is expected to track across the region on Wednesday, followed by a quick shot of Arctic air with temperatures a few degrees colder than seasonal. This should trigger another round of significant lake-effect snow by Wednesday night.
Much milder weather is expected to arrive for the weekend, with that warmer pattern dominating into mid-December. We’ll be watching the potential for a colder pattern to kick in during late December and early January.
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Stay with The Weather Network for all the latest on conditions across Ontario.
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