theDIV

Hi,
I read somewhere that the weather in southern Ontario is damp and grey in winter - is this the case?

victor meldrew

Is this an April Fool? :-)
If its not then, no not usually. Its often pretty sunny in the winter but cold with it. We had a few days hovering around -20 C. Its the wind that's the real killer though. Wind chill can knock another 20 degress off so it can feel like -40 C!

However, looking out the window right now, then the answer to you question is yes it is. :-(

Check out http://www.theweathernetwork.com/

mickj

Hello there,

Well i wont bul**hit you, it gets cold, really cold. Winter started about mid Dec, we did'nt really get a good snowfall till after the new year. We have had a few snow dumps of 8" in a night. The problem is it never gets above freezing so the snow never really goes away. I think we have had two days since new year over 0 . We were down in Niagara mid Jan, it was -29, but -39 with the wind chill. It was cold, really really cold. We walked from a bar to our hotel (about 200 yrds) and our tear ducts froze and that hurts! But as they say here, there's no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes. Since the snow started we have been to different events every weekend. We went tubeing down ski slopes, went to the ice dog festival ( the huskys were amazing). The Canadians dont let a bit of snow and cold weather stop tham having fun.
The spring comes quick here, end of March last year it was about +5ish, by April the 11th it was +27 (weird i know). Last July we had 3 weeks in a row over +30, its not the heat that gets ya its the humidity, you step outside and your clothes just stick to you. We like the fall, its about +18, sunny and dry and thats when some of the best events local to us are on.
The thing i like about here is you get season's. Back home in London UK, a gray, rainy day could be any day of the year. Sure we will look forward to summer but if i'm honest we have quite enjoyed winter.
I think trying to compare Canada and the UK is like chalk and cheese, i wouldn't know where to start as the countrys are so different.

Hope that helps....

flashman

There aren't really too many grey rainy days in Ontario. Even in the middle of winter with the temp at -30 the sky is still blue with sunshine.

xunzi

Ha! It was grey and rainy in the Niagara Region today

Winter can be interesting with the 'lake effect' thrown into the mix but if the weather is grey then there is usually snow falling

lee2

The only part of Canada that has a mild temperate climate like Britain's is British Columbia on the west coast.

mickj

As much as i hate all these old statistics, i just thought i'll post this here for you to see what has happened weather-wise over the past 40yrs

http://www.statcan.ca/english/Pgdb/phys08a.htm


Toronto's weather:

http://toronto.rezrez.com/whattoexpe...tats/index.htm


cheers

babsi

To be honest the winter hasn't been that bad compared to previous years. A few days at the end of last year were cold and there was hardly any snow, Christmas week was quite nice.

I can only remember wearing my gloves a few times this winter

After Christmas there was a bit of snow but there hasn't been any snow for a while and it is nice looking out of my window and not seeing the white stuff.

Last year it did snow in April one Saturday which was really depressing as the week before we were sitting outside in a Second Cup. I did see on weather.com it was going to snow at some point but I doubt it will happen.

theDIV

blimey! - looking at those statistics, looks like Ontario is wetter than the UK!!??

lee2

Yes but doesn't precipitation include snow?

Also when it rains in the summer, it's usually dramatic night-time thunder storms.

jonthelad

Having been in Ontario for about 5 years I have to say that I have never experienced thunderstorms like the ones here! They can be truly amazing (and terrifying for the family dog).

Winter here is very long. I never thought I'd get sick of the sight of snow, having grown up with almost none in Bournemouth from 1973-1999, but by the start of March I've had enough. Fortunately Spring is not too far away and the -25c nights and daytime highs of -10 are mostly gone by then.

However, what Mick said earlier is true. The long, cold, snowy winters are a fact of life here and Canadians embrace them and get out there and enjoy it as best they can. I'll take the snow over the rain anyday.

bobkhag5

I am interested to know what the road conditions are like during the winter periods. Are the main roads kept clear of snow 90% of the time??!!??

Also how many times would you expect to clear your drive of snow during winter? Is it a daily, weekly monthly occurrence?

Do you have to like Winter sports (Ice Skating, Boarding etc etc) to enjoy the winters in Ontario as I’m not really good at anything like that so I’m wondering if I would be board?

Regards
Bob

flashman

Even with snow on the ground there's a lot of days with sunny blue skies. Not weeks of dull grey overcast skies.

mickj

And you see a lot of art work like this around. All in good faith of course

MadMacGregor

Must say that 'Grey and damp' is normal for where I am - Scotland, but hopefully after we get the nod at the end of this year then sub-artic temperatures (but with blue skies - wow) will be the norm.