TORONTO – There’s an old joke that, in Canada, we have to design our Halloween costumes to fit over our snowsuits. Turns out, that may be true this Halloween, at least for parts of the country.
The worst places to be trick-or-treating this year will be in eastern Ontario, Quebec and the west coast.
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For those in Toronto and Ottawa, a weather system is expected to push through the area bringing much cooler temperatures and precipitation — and that precipitation could fall as snow. Though, it won’t be as bad as last year when a record 20 mm of rain fell in Toronto. Sure, at 15 C it was mild, but it was windy and wet. Ottawa had a similarly miserable Halloween.
“I don’t think we’re talking about an amount very much, maybe five millimetres of precipitation, not like last year. So it’s not going to be a soaker, and it’s not going to be wind-driven,” Dave Phillips, senior climatologist with Environment Canada said. “In Toronto…it will be a bit of a challenge. And it will be the coldest day of the fall season so far.”
The highs for the Greater Toronto Area and Ottawa will be near 5 C. So you’ll have to be sure to dress the kids up warm as they start their trick-or-treating. And the precipitation that does fall may be wet snow.
“No accumulation,” Phillips assured.
In Northern Ontario, there’s likely to be snow with a high of 1 C.
Montreal will be dry but cold with similar temperatures to Toronto and Ottawa.
Meanwhile, in Vancouver, it looks to be a mild but wet Halloween, so instead of winter coats, raincoats should be kept handy.
“It looks like a wet Halloween, but temperature-wise about normal,” Phillips said. At least the wind and rain associated with the remnants of Hurricane Ana won’t be the issue. It mainly looks like it will be showers.
But for the Prairies, particularly in Calgary and Edmonton, the weather looks to be a treat.
“Gorgeous. Just absolutely gorgeous,” Phillips said.
In Calgary, which normally sees a high of around 7 C this time of year, temperatures will climb to about 15 C during the day, with sunshine. Edmonton — with a normal daytime high of 4 C — will also see warmer temperatures with the mercury climbing to around 12 C.
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In the days leading up to Halloween, Regina has snow on tap. But Mother Nature takes pity on the kids on Halloween with no precipitation in the forecast and a daytime high of 8 C.
And in Winnipeg — a city that’s used to chilly Halloweens — the daytime high will be around 4 C. But at least it’ll be dry.
And Newfoundland and Halifax, well, they get a treat, too, as warmer-than-normal temperatures grace the region and clear skies are expected.
But remember: This is Canada. Cover all your bases. Just in case.
To get real-time weather for your area, download the Global News Skytracker weather app.
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