Long winter gets longer with more flurries expected in the London area

Flurries are in the forecast for the London area Wednesday and Thursday this week, meaning the long winter is getting a little bit longer.

Environment Canada’s David Rodgers isn’t expecting much as far as accumulation goes, but says it won’t feel much like mid-April.

“A few light flurries in the morning, the bigger system will come into the area Wednesday evening. It might mix with a bit of rain at first but then quickly change over to snow.”

He says the area could receive anywhere between two and four centimetres by Thursday morning.

But, the long-awaited spring-like temperatures aren’t too far around the corner.

“It’ll be another cold day for Thursday. The good news is that Friday onward into the weekend and next week, we’re going to be looking at a warming trend.”

Environment Canada is calling for sun and double-digit temperatures for Saturday and Sunday.

Some scientists are blaming the long winter on the melting northern sea ice, which weakens air currents that used to block cold northern temperatures from spilling into the south.

Rogers doesn’t expect too many people in the London area will be sad to see the winter weather go.

“I’m sure people are pretty tired of seeing snow at this point. It’s been a pretty cold April with a fair amount of snow, even with that recent storm brought a good amount of ice pellets down on most of southwestern Ontario.”

As of Wednesday morning, Hydro One is still working at restoring power for some customers east of London, as some scattered outages are still affecting customers near Ingersoll and Woodstock.

Earlier this week, London Hydro sent eight line workers and four single bucket trucks to assist the restoration efforts.

— With files from Canadian Press