white christmas ontario

People in Ontario disappointed over lack of a white Christmas this year

For the first time in a long time, much of Ontario is not slated to see a white Christmas this year, and residents are already mourning the days of yore when there were heaps of the white stuff to make things feel extra festive.

The forecast for Toronto in the coming days includes a chance of some patchy freezing rain and periods of drizzle under overcast skies. Temperatures will stay well above freezing, hitting 4 C Saturday, 7 C Sunday and 9 C Monday — not optimal for snow, unfortunately.

People seem to be lacking the usual excitement of the season as a result, with many saying they aren't looking forward to all of the grey, and are jealous of parts of the country that do look like a winter wonderland right now.

"Send Mother Nature another memo, I don't think she got the first one saying it's supposed to be winter here," one person tweeted this week.

Others are calling for "a high risk of Grinchmas" due to the lack of our usual Christmas aesthetic.

One person in Barrie posted to Ontario Reddit to say they feel like this may be the warmest Christmas they've seen in four decades, with their area due to see an unseasonably balmy high of 12 C on Wednesday.

In the comments, many who live even further north — even in Sudbury, Thunder Bay and Sault Ste. Marie — said that they're likewise without snow this week, which is "so weird" over the holidays.

"I'm near Sarnia and the pond we used to skate on as kids hasn't frozen over in like, five years," one added.

I think this warmest Christmas or close to it in 40 years.... (Barrie)
byu/Remote-Insect5502 inontario

Of course, along with the fact that the conditions are making everyone feel far less jolly, there is the concern about, you know, what it could mean for the planet.

As one person said on the platform, "2023 will be the warmest year on record — even though the goal for climate change is to limit warming to 1.5 degrees, we are already at 1.43 degrees above the preindustrial average. In other words, our world is totally fucked."

Even downtown Toronto had snow in the forecast around Xmas in recent years, and we're not the only ones strangely going without it this year — most of the U.S.the U.K.Europe, and typically snowy places like Montreal are not expecting their usual December flurries.

After a freakishly summer-like start to fall that was hot enough to delay the province's fall colours, we've crushed multiple weather records for stretches of warm weather and high temperatures.

Just last week, Toronto saw its least-wintry December 15 ever recorded in more than 180 years, with thermometers reading 13.2 C.

While it may not be a particularly Christmasy Christmas, weather-wise, Southern Ontario is due to see a rollercoaster of mild and frigid conditions later in the season that will feel more appropriate for the time of year.

Lead photo by

Carol Farrington


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