A clipper pushing into southern Ontario on Monday might be the region’s last chance at securing a white Christmas this year.
Forecasters are watching the progress of an Alberta clipper expected to cross the Great Lakes on Monday, bringing snow to areas where the ground is plenty cold enough for accumulation.
While snow hasn’t been in short supply around the traditional snowbelts, folks around much of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and southwestern Ontario have had little snow so far this season.
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A frigid weekend before the clipper
We’ve got to get through some frigid temperatures before this clipper arrives. Temperatures will bottom-out Saturday night around -18°C in Toronto, bringing the city its coldest reading since Feb. 2023.
It’ll be even colder toward cottage country, where temperatures will fall into the mid-20s below zero. The wind will make the cold feel even more brutal, with wind chill values dipping into the minus-20s to minus-30s throughout the region.
Sunday will remain quite chilly across the region, with most communities around the GTA and northward struggling to crack out of the minus double digits for daytime high temperatures.
Snowy clipper arrives Monday
We’ll monitor the progress of an Alberta clipper sliding into the Great Lakes from the west. This system will tap into enough moisture to produce widespread snowfall throughout southern Ontario.
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Expect the snow to begin by Monday afternoon, spreading across the region through the day. Snowfall will continue into the evening before tapering off from west to east.
Most areas can expect 5-10 cm of snow from this system, with totals likely surpassing the 10 cm mark in central Ontario and into the Nickel Belt. Look out for moderate travel impacts through the day on Monday, with slick roads a good bet for the evening commute.
What does this mean for Christmas morning? Remember that an ‘official’ white Christmas occurs when forecasters measure 2 cm of snow on the ground at 7:00 a.m. on Christmas Day.
Minimal sunshine on Christmas Eve, along with temperatures holding shy of the freezing mark, will likely help to maintain that snowpack from the GTA northward heading into the big day on Wednesday. Keep your fingers crossed, kids.