Second half of winter will be short, but cooler than normal in southern Ontario: meteorologist

The above freezing temperatures didn’t last long in London with the mercury expected to drop back below -10 C this weekend.

That’s according Environment Canada’s Dave Phillips, who said after this weekend there will be more winter behind us than ahead of us.

“Perhaps the winter won’t be as long as it was last year.”

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Although the Forest City saw bitterly cold temperatures last weekend, London has seen fewer significantly cold days this winter than last.

“Let’s take a day where the temperature is -10 C or below, so you get that double-digit negative value,” said Phillips. “Typically by the halfway point, London should have maybe 18 of those days. This year, there’s only been 12.”

While winter may not last as long as it did in 2018, Phillips warned of a long bout of cooler than normal days.

“What’s going to be noticeable about the next bout of cool-ish weather is the length,” he said. “It won’t be a three-day wonder, but it could be 10 or 12 days where we see temperatures that are going to be noticeably cooler than normal.

“They may not be as painfully cold as what we’ve just gone through. The winds may not be as strong so we wouldn’t be counting wind chills in to -30 C,” said Phillips.

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Overnight temperatures are expected to stay below -10 C for at least the next week.