Blustery and Chilly End to the Week and Month With Wind Gusts Up to 95km/h and Risk of Flurries on Friday Across Parts of Southern Ontario

The weather in April this year has been all over the place from unseasonably warm temperatures well into the 20s on several days this month to a near-miss with a potential late-season snowstorm that still brought a blast of snow to parts of the province just over a week ago. The rollercoaster of weather continues as we say goodbye to April and hello to May with the return of colder temperatures along with strong wind gusts throughout the day on Friday. The colder temperatures could also result in the potential for a few flurries across Central and Eastern Ontario during the afternoon and evening on Friday although significant accumulation isn’t expected at this point. We’ll see early morning lows on Saturday several degrees below the freezing mark making for probably the chilliest morning in several weeks. Maybe hold off on putting away that winter coat!

The main story of Friday will be the brisk northwesterly winds that will pick up after sunrise on Friday that will also usher in the colder Arctic air from the north. These winds will be quite strong across Southern Ontario generally ranging from 60-80km/h in most areas with the strongest gusts occurring during the afternoon hours on Friday. There are a few pockets of even stronger gusts that we’re watching that could impact a zone to the north of the GTA around Lake Simcoe and along the eastern Lake Huron shoreline. These regions could experience gusts as high as 80-95km/h which could result in some damage and power outages. Be sure to bring in or secure any objects that could be blown away in the strong winds. The winds will remain quite strong as we head into the evening on Friday although we should being to see the subside past midnight into Saturday morning.

Precipitation associated with the system currently bringing some rainfall to Southern Ontario today will wrap back around on Friday as the colder air floods into the province. This will provide the potential for the rain to transitioning over to some wet flurries or even accumulating snow for more elevated and northern regions during the afternoon and evening on Friday. However, you likely won’t need to dig out the snow shovel for this event as most of the snow should melt on contact due to the wet ground from earlier snowfall and the ground will still be warm despite the below-freezing temperatures. The highest snow totals will be found through North Bay, Algonquin Park and more elevated parts of Central Ontario with the potential for up to 5cm of accumulation. Other areas can expect at most maybe a dusting of snow if anything at all. The snow will taper off late Friday as the system finally moves out of our region.