Freezing rain expected for Windsor-Essex

Experiencing the Midwestern February blahs? More fine weather is here to enhance the mood. Environment Canada meteorologists are forecasting that Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent will enjoy “several hours of freezing rain” on Tuesday.

A warning issued Monday morning said the precipitation would begin as snow on Monday evening, change briefly into ice pellets (two to four centimetres of accumulation), and then transform into freezing rain near midnight. According to Environment Canada, the freezing rain could be significant (5 to 15 millimetres), and travel is likely to be affected. “Surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways, and parking lots will become icy, slippery, and hazardous,” the agency warned. “Be prepared to adjust your driving with changing road conditions.” In anticipation of the weather demanding caution from motorists, the City of Windsor sent vehicles to pre-salt the E. C. Row Expressway and other main routes on Monday. The good news is that temperatures should be unseasonably warm throughout the region on Tuesday, and the freezing rain should become normal rain before noon. A high of 4 C is expected during the day, returning to subzero at night with a low of -2 C. Weather analysts say the freezing rain is associated with a Colorado Low system that will be crossing southern Ontario Tuesday and Wednesday.

We should consider ourselves fortunate. Windsor-Essex will be mostly spared the “blockbuster storm” that The Weather Network says is hitting the rest of the province.

The Greater Toronto Area could see 10 to 15 centimetres of snow, while Ottawa could be getting more than 30 centimetres. “The time of this storm indicates that both morning and evening commutes could be treacherous, and is worth planning ahead for,” The Weather Network advised. There has been some epically bad weather in Windsor-Essex on Feb. 12 in previous years. According to Environment Canada’s historical weather data, the coldest Feb. 12 on record for our area was in 2014, when the low temperature sank to -23.3 C.

The snowiest Feb. 12 in WindsorEssex was in 1985, when 31 centimetres of snow fell in one day.