Boxing Day boasts high temperatures and could match records from 1963
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Balmy temperatures on Boxing Day are predicted to be the warmest in more than 50 years and could come close to setting a record.
A predicted high of 9C in Oxford County on Boxing Day will make shopping more tolerable, but shoppers may have to dig out their raincoats.
A storm system out of Colorado will bring the warm temps, but also a major storm system resulting in rain in Southern Ontario.
However, Environment Canada meteorologist Geoff Coulson said the storm “will have a winter feel” in Eastern and Northern Ontario.
“There will be a lot of wind and snowfall north of Lake Huron and Lake Superior,” he said.
High temperatures Boxing Day may mean the 2016 holiday could come close to setting a record.
Temperatures have reached 9.4C on three occasions in previous years including 1875, 1888 and 1963.
Despite the warmer temperatures, Oxford County can still likely count on a white Christmas.
“I think the folks who have snowpack will hang on to it,” Coulson said.
However, a messy mix of rain and wet snow expected to fall overnight Friday and into Saturday morning will likely result in one to two cm of wet snow.
For those planning on travelling on Christmas Day, temperatures will be milder than normal, hovering around the freezing mark and making travelling tolerable.
The week between Christmas and New Year is also expected to be favourable for travellers, with a little bit of light snow falling on New Year’s Eve.
“It could slow things down a bit, but it’s not a significant snowfall,” he said.
January temperatures look to be around normal, Coulson said, with daytime highs of -2C and nighttime lows of -10C.
“We could have a cold snap followed by milder temperatures,” he said.