Soak up the sun for the next few days as a remarkable stretch of late-season warmth builds over Ontario.
Daytime high temperatures will come in 5-10 degrees above seasonal for many communities. While this is an unusual burst of comfortable warmth for this late in the season, it’s not unprecedented.
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A warm week ahead
A formidable ridge of high pressure building over the Great Lakes will force a spell of unseasonable temperatures to build over most of Ontario.
Ridges foster sinking air, which warms up and dries out as it descends toward the ground. The end result is usually sunny skies, above-seasonal temperatures, and a noticeable lack of rainfall.
Temperatures are slated to run 5-10 degrees warmer than normal for much of southern Ontario over the next couple of days. Folks across northern Ontario could see temperatures run as much as 15 degrees above seasonal.
Sunday will see temperatures in the 20s for just about everyone in southern Ontario, save for a few communities by the northern shores of Lake Ontario. We’ll even watch readings poke into the lower 20s as far north as Thunder Bay and Timmins.
The ridge’s influence will peak on Monday with the event’s warmest temperatures. Daytime highs in the mid-20s are likely throughout southern Ontario. Make sure to get out and enjoy it while you can.
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Warm air will even spread toward Moosonee by Tuesday, where we could see a high pushing 20 degrees.
It’s worth watching the potential for poor air quality in some communities as this stagnant pattern also helps trap pollution closer to the ground. Moderate air quality readings were observed across southern Ontario on Saturday, and some degradation in air quality is expected to persist over the next few days.
We’re in the middle of fall, after all, and all good things have to come to an end. A cold front pushing into Ontario on Wednesday will serve as our return to reality. Temperatures will even fall a few degrees below seasonal for some areas by Thursday.
Unusual, but not unprecedented
How unusual is this kind of warmth this late in the season?
It’s rare, but not unprecedented. Just about everyone in Ontario has seen a day reach at least 20°C well into November.
A memorable event unfolded in November 2020 when Toronto-Pearson recorded a high temperature of 24.3°C—the airport’s latest 20-degree day on record. Hamilton saw a reading of 25°C that day.
Folks down in typically toasty Windsor take the cake, though, where we hit the 20-degree mark as late as December 6 one year.
Header image courtesy of Calvin Hanson.
Stay tuned to The Weather Network for all the latest on conditions across Ontario.