Gusty winds, rapid temperature drop expected overnight in London region

Londoners will see a bit of everything weather-wise over the next several hours, according to Environment Canada.

A freezing rain warning and special weather statement were in effect for London and Middlesex as of 5:30 p.m. The freezing rain warning was dropped just after 6 p.m.

Freezing rain passing through the region Thursday afternoon will turn into light showers in the evening as temperatures rise above zero — possibly as high as 9 degrees around 10 p.m., said the national weather agency.

Those mild temperatures, however, will be short-lived. An incoming cold front will bring a blast of gusty winds, bringing temperatures down to -3 degrees by 4 a.m., feeling like -11. Gusts of 85 to 90 km/h are possible late Thursday night in some locales, Environment Canada said.

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The mercury will continue to fall through Friday morning and afternoon, with London seeing a 30 per cent chance of flurries. The gusty winds will also slowly diminish throughout the afternoon.

London will see temperatures fall to -9 Friday afternoon feeling like -20. Highs will remain below freezing over the weekend. The average high for this time of year is -2.

In anticipation of the gusts, Hydro One tweeted it was positioning crews across central and eastern Ontario so it could quickly assess any damage that might occur and to safely restore power in the event of an outage.

It’s the latest in what’s been a wild couple weeks of weather for the London region, which has experienced everything from -24 lows, near-10 degree highs, freezing rain, and now extreme wind gusts.