Fall has officially begun but there is no reason to ‘write the obituary on summer-like weather just yet,” according to a senior climatologist with Environment Canada.
The fall season officially began at 3:50 a.m. on Monday with the passage of the autumnal equinox but the temperatures in Toronto are still making it feel more like July or August than late September.
On the final day of summer on Sunday the temperature reached a high of 31 C and the warm weather was continuing on Monday with a high of 25 C expected by later in the afternoon.
The mild conditions aren’t expected to disappear anytime soon either. Environment Canada is forecasting highs of 21 C and 22 C on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“We think the fall will be milder than normal. It may also be wetter than normal but our precipitation forecasts are not always up to snuff. Temperature-wise we get it right many more times than we get it wrong but precipitation is always a tough call,” Environment Canada’s Senior Climatologist David Phillips told CP24.
Phillips said that last year the GTA got “shortchanged” by a particularly brutal fall that saw cool temperatures and even some snow.
He said this year Environment Canada’s models are calling for a milder conditions through November.
“Last year we had frost and snow in October and November was even worse. It just seemed to begin that way and didn’t end till May,” he said. “My hope is that we will see many more golf days and landscape touring days this year. Don’t write the obituary on summer-like weather yet.”
The average daytime high this time of year is 19.5 C but that will decline to 18. 3 C as soon as this weekend.
