Southern Ontario on track to receive snow, gusting winds

Forecasters have conceded that dreams of a wintry, white Christmas aren’t likely to materialize in southern Ontario. But, if a recent weather warning rings true, a blustery Boxing Day is in the works.

Parts of southern Ontario are on track to receive gusting winds and snow later in the week, according to a special weather statement issued by Environment Canada early Monday morning.

“Significant snowfall” is possible in several cities including Toronto and Ottawa as a low-pressure system from Texas passes south of the Great Lakes region on Wednesday evening, the agency warned.

The cautionary note covers a wide swath of Ontario, beginning near Burk’s Falls in Parry Sound and stretching nearly 400 kilometres south to the tourist city of Niagara Falls.

Among the affected communities are Toronto, Hamilton, the eastern city of Brockville and Haliburton Country -- known as a popular destination for cottages and lodges.

• Is your community affected? See the bulletin for more information.

Environment Canada’s projections indicate it will begin to snow in southwestern Ontario on Boxing Day. That snow is expected to spread into eastern Ontario Wednesday evening.

If that precipitation joins forces with blustery northeast winds, reduced visibility is a possibility.

“It should be emphasized that this storm has yet to develop and the track of the storm may alter,” the Environment Canada statement noted, adding it is too early to predict how much snow will arrive.

Ontarians have been urged to monitor their local forecasts for current conditions.

Light snow and flurries were in the forecast for parts of northwestern Ontario such as Kenora on Monday. But closer to Toronto, conditions remained mild, if not a little chilly at 2 C.

By Environment Canada’s definition, a community must have at least two centimentres of snow on the ground on the morning of Dec. 25 to call it a legitimate “white Christmas.”

But statistically, the odds of a white Christmas have been dropping year after year.

The city of Toronto, for instance, hasn’t experienced a white Christmas since 2008.

“Winter is not…what it used to be,” Environment Canada climatologist David Phillips told The Canadian Press in mid-December. “It was more of a done deal. It was more of a guarantee.”