Whiplash for Mother Nature: London, Ont. could set record highs, followed by frost

A week of warm weather is expected to go out with a bang in London, Ont., with the potential for record-high temperatures on Thursday and Friday but the longer the summer preview drags on, the bigger the threat of future frost.

Environment and Climate Change Canada is forecasting a high of 28 C and 27 C on April 13 and 14. Current high-temperature records sit at 28.9 C and 24.4 C, respectively.

“Experiencing temperatures in the high 20s for this amount of time in mid-April is certainly not a normal occurrence,” said Global News meteorologist Ross Hull.

“We have experienced temperatures at 30 C or above at times in April, but much of the time that is towards the end of the month. So what we’re experiencing now is certainly unusual. And one of the things we have to keep an eye on is the fact that this stretch of weather won’t be lasting through next week.”

While many Londoners have been soaking up the sun, Hull is worried about what an about-face in conditions will mean for plant life.

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“One of the concerns is with this warmth that we’ll see some early blooms with agriculture and crops as well. Back in 2012, there was some really warm weather in early to mid-April. That was a warm winter too. And then there was a period of pretty devastating frost towards the end of April,” he explained.

2:14 A look at Ontario’s 2023 spring forecast

“Now when I look ahead to next week, I’m not seeing temperatures dropping to below freezing for say, two or three nights consecutively. So that’s some good news.”

While he’s not expecting devastating frost, Hull said possible frost next week will be something for farmers to keep in mind.

As of Thursday afternoon, the forecast for London predicted overnight lows of 1 C on Monday and Tuesday.

Daniel Wood is among the Londoners enjoying the heat before it disappears and was catching an outdoor workout downtown. He told Global News he was lucky enough to have the week off work.

“I didn’t think it was going to be this nice. I got lucky!”

Dante Paltrinieri and Erica Rizzi were enjoying Harris Park on Thursday with their dog and some books. Rizzi, a Western University student, sounded disappointed to hear that the temperature would soon plummet.

“I have exams so, can’t really enjoy the weather very much but I’ll try to get out as much as I can.”