Make the most of the abnormally warm weather while you can, because it won’t be around for much longer, according to Environment Canada.
The London region, and all of southern Ontario, has been experiencing unseasonable warmth for the past week, reporting daytime highs in the low 20s which have resulted in local temperature records being broken three times in just the last four days.
London’s airport recorded a high of 21.4 C on Tuesday, surpassing the previous record of 19.1 C set in 2001. Prior to that, records set in 1999 and 1975 were broken on Monday and Saturday, respectively, when highs of 21.5 C and 19.7 C were reported.
The unusual warmth — the average high for this time of November is 8 C — is due to a large area of high pressure that has been stationary off the U.S. eastern seaboard, said Geoff Coulson, a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada.
“(It’s) locked in and, sort of, blocking the atmospheric flow over Ontario,” he said.
“What that’s meant is: pumping up the temperatures as the high brings in warmer conditions from the American Deep South, but also deflecting weather systems from bringing in cloud and showers and even flurries (and) keeping that activity, for the most part, over northern Ontario.”
So far this month, London has recorded at least seven days where temperatures have risen above 17 C, of which four, including Tuesday, have been above 20 C.
Also unusual, Coulson says, is the amount of sunshine the region has seen over that same time period.
“It can actually tend to be a pretty drab and dreary month for the most part. So not only getting this amount of warmth on this many consecutive days, but also getting the amount of sunshine we’ve got, has been pretty rare for this time of year.”
Unfortunately for many, the spring-like sun and warmth is only temporary, according to forecasts. London is set to see daytime highs dip back down to single-digits by late Wednesday, bringing with it overnight lows that will fall from the low teens to below-freezing.
“What we’re tracking is a cold front that, (Tuesday) afternoon, is to the west of Chicago, and that cold front is going to continue to move eastwards overnight and during the day on Wednesday,” Coulson said.
“What that will mean is we’re going to see cloudy skies developing around midnight in the London area with showers beginning in the early morning hours of Wednesday — the worst of those showers likely over with by mid-morning on Wednesday — and then some clearing.”
With those showers comes a high of 14 C that will fall to 5 C through the afternoon. Further into the week, London is expecting three-days of sunshine and highs of 9 C on Thursday and Friday and 6 C on Saturday. Sunday is expecting periods of rain with a high of 10 C.
“I think certainly for the next week or so, the models are indicating we go back to more seasonal temperatures for this time of year,” Coulson said.
“And then going forward from there, the second half of November, actually, some hints that we may see, again, somewhat warmer than normal temperatures.”
According to Environment Canada’s seasonal forecast, the London region has a 60 to 70 per cent probability of seeing above-average temperatures through to January.
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