Special weather statement issued for Toronto ahead of 'sharp' temperature drop

Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement for the City of Toronto ahead of a “sharp” drop in temperature Wednesday afternoon.

The national weather agency says the city could see record-breaking warmth earlier in the day on Wednesday with a high of 13 C in the forecast that could reach 16.2 C, breaking the record of warm weather for this day since 2018.

But the mild weather will quickly be replaced by frigid temperatures when a “strong cold front” tracks through the southern part of the province this afternoon, causing temperatures to “drop dramatically.”

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Speaking with CP24, Environment Canada meteorologist Jeff Coulson said that despite the “very, very warm temperatures” for this time of year, a cold front is on Toronto’s doorstep.

“We’ve gone from spring-like weather with showers and thunderstorm activity yesterday and overnight last night, temperatures very, very mild for this time of year and yet we’re expecting a pretty dramatic shift in temperature in the coming hours,” said Coulson. He noted that yesterday’s storm brought as much as to 25 millimetres of rain and pea-sized hail to areas of the GTA.

“This cold front is on Toronto’s doorstep as we speak, it’s already gone through areas like Sarnia and Windsor. We’ve seen temperatures drop by like 10 degrees an hour as the front goes through so that’s what’s in store for Toronto around the lunch hour into early afternoon.” 

The cold front also comes with the development of “strong northwesterly winds,” bringing gusts of up to 80 km/h for much of the afternoon and evening.

In a post to X, just after 1 p.m., Toronto Hydro says that it’s responding to “scattered outages across the city due to the windy conditions this afternoon.”

According to the power outage map, there are between 50-5,000 affected customers primarily in the Etobicoke and Toronto Junction areas.

Coulson says that the drop in temperature, gusts of winds and potential flurries will likely last during the rush hour. 

“Winds are expected to ease tonight. The sudden temperature drop may lead to icy surfaces as temperatures fall below the freezing mark through the day,” Environment Canada said in its weather advisory.

“Be prepared to adjust your driving with changing road conditions.”

The burst of cold weather will be short-lived.

• Daily forecast for Toronto

Although Thursday will begin with wind chill values approaching -12 in the morning, the temperature will warm up to a high of 0C later in the day.

Toronto will see above seasonal temperatures return late this week, with a high of 5 C expected on Friday and 8 C on Saturday.

Double digit daytime highs are in the forecast for Toronto on Sunday and Monday, as temperatures climb to 11 C and 12 C on each day respectively.