Snow could return to Ontario next week as province smashes temperature records

If you’ve been enjoying the unseasonably warm April weather in Ontario, you’ll want to soak up all the sun you can before temperatures drop next week.

Toronto hit 29 C on Thursday, breaking the previous record of 27.1 C set on April 13, 1977.

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“It’ll be breezy again today as winds are a big part of the advection of warmth into the region,” CP24 meteorologist Bill Coulter said Thursday.

The weather has been so nice this week in Toronto that the Rogers Centre’s retractable roof was opened on Wednesday—the earliest in a Toronto Blue Jays season it’s ever been opened. Earlier in the day, Toronto set a daily temperature record of 26 C, breaking the previous record of 25.8 C set in 2001.

While warm temperatures have been observed in Aprils gone by, Environment Canada Meteorologist Steven Flisfeder told CTV News Toronto the consistently warm weather this early in the month is “fairly rare.”

Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Ross Stripling (48) throws the opening pitch of the Toronto Blue Jays first home game of the 2021 season at the Rogers Centre in Toronto against the Kansas City Royals during MLB action on Friday, July 30, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Peter Power

“It is fairly common to see temperatures reaching the 20s, mid 20s even, throughout April. It’s a little less common to have it occur several days in a row, which we have been seeing and will continue to see until the weekend.”

But, you’ll want to enjoy the heat while you can before more familiar early spring temperatures, and even some snow, return next week.

“It’ll be back to reality,” Coulter said, adding that the warmth will really start to shift on Saturday. “Temperatures will struggle to get out of the single digits on Monday and Tuesday. And, skies will be more inclement.”

According to The Weather Network, rain Monday and Tuesday in the Greater Toronto Area will transition to light snow. Temperatures are set to hover in the low 10 C mark for the rest of the month, with some days more sunny than others.

However, there’s good news for those that like the heat as spring turns to summer in late June.

According to the Farmers’ Almanac, Ontario and the Great Lakes region will see hotter temperatures, albeit with higher-than-usual periods of rain, with a spike in mid-July.