Peter Finlayson, Ormstown Weatherman
Winter disappeared no sooner than it had arrived in the last week. A warm front moved in and did a 180 degree flip, going from -15°C the week before to +15.5°C on Christmas Eve. Along with the +14.5°C recorded on Christmas Day, it was likely a record warm spell for the holiday period.
The average temperature for December now stands at -1.6°C, up from -2.3°C last week and way above the monthly normal of -4.5°C. So far in December, 17 days have recorded a daytime high above normal, and 21 nights where the low was above normal.
Not only did the warm weather take away what little snow was on the ground, but it also rained to make it the greyest, wettest Christmas for a long time. Total precipitation was 22 mm for the week, made up of 14 mm of rain and 8 cm of snow. The month’s total precipitation is now 39 mm, which is 50% less than normal – a dry month for sure.