White Christmas likely
Table is set for a snow-covered Christmas Day, meteorologist says
There’s a white Christmas in the forecast this year.
Dayna Vettese, meteorologist with The Weather Network, said she would have been hesitant to say that a few days ago, but it’s definitely in the cards now.
“It’s going to be a White Christmas. People will be happy about that because that’s when we really want the snow is around Christmas time,” Vettese said.
A couple of storm systems moving into the region will bring some fresh snow, but only small amounts.
Thursday night’s snowfall will continue into Friday, dumping 5 to 10 centimetres, and then it’ll be a few centimetres here and there until Christmas, Vettese said.
The meteorologist warns to take caution on the roads Friday. Although there won’t be a lot of snow on the ground, the roads will be slick.
Light snowfalls often don’t keep residents indoors like major storms do, Vettese said, but the roads can be just as slippery.
“One or two centimetres isn’t going to stop a Canadian from going to work, but it will cause the roads to slick up,” she said.
Freezing drizzle is also expected later in the day Friday.
After Christmas, Vettese said there’d be a big drop in temperatures in Peterborough and across most of the country.
Daytime highs between Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve will be in the minus teens, but there won’t be much snowfall.
“There’s a lot of cold air coming in so if you’ve got any outdoor activities planned (be prepared).”
The cold snap will continue for New Year’s Eve, so Vettese suggests bundling up if you’re heading out to celebrate.
Looking into the new year, a busy weather pattern is expected for the rest of the winter.
There’ll be plenty of ups and downs, thanks to la nina.
La nina means the ocean temperatures in the Pacific are below normal, while el nino denotes above average temperatures. They’re the two weather patterns that drive our forecast.
This year, la nina is causing a very active storm track across southern Ontario, Vettese said.
“We’ll see a lot of systems coming through, bringing us rain and snow, rain and snow – it’s just going to be one of those winters.”
Although it’s been a pretty mild winter so far, with a few cold days here and there, Vettese said that’s about to change.
“The cold is coming so be prepared over the next couple weeks – it’s going to be fairly cold.”
And with an above normal amount of precipitation in the forecast, it also means more of the white stuff is expected, too.
“I would say a snowier winter is probably in the cards for us.”