Stunning pictures and what what winter is all about.  Wouldn't bother putting lights out in here under grey skies, wet ground and mild temps.

Amazing pics from PA, brilliant stuff. You have prob just as much as us in Dundas, maybe a wee tad more. One typical N American word for that 'Awesome'!

2012 leaving our shores with bitter winds, gusting over 40kph this afternoon and drifting snow. Yellowknife this is not, it's metro GTA! Forecast into the new year calls for temps between -1 and -6 by day and much colder at night with still some flurry activity around. No sign, of the cold relenting right now or for that matter of another storm. But, it's a beautiful way to sign out for this year.

And on that note, i'd like to wish everyone on TWO and especially the regulars in this thread in particular Peter, over in chinnockland and Graeme over in wetland, er Scotland a fantastic new year and all the best for you in 2013.

Cheers!

I couldnt agree more, they look fantastic

One week on from the snowfest end to 2012 and we are now in a more mixed pattern with the trend in the short term now for slightly higher temps above 0c and for a more sustained thaw of lying snow both by day and night. Some of the snowcover has thawed in the daytime sun over the past few days but then re-froze overnight, with temps as low as -17c overnight it was no wonder. Brutal windy weather also on Thurs/Fri made it feel bonechillingly cold - double minus w/c temps by day and drifting of that snow.

It's already slightly milder today at 0c and with cloud around tonight ushering in a small lp system that is expected to bring snow to the City of Hamilton area but only very slight accumulation with this, partly due to the rising surface temps. Maybe 2cm.

Now, the interest part. As this system exits it will further increase the temps, in the short term upto possibly next weekend with highs by day between 2c & 5c. After this, there are strong indications of a series of storms and much colder weather entering the Eastern 3rd of NA. As always where this sets up will be key in the type and severity of precipation for the GTA/Hamilton/Niagara area. Brett Anderson now has an excellent twitter feed @BrettAWX and he is favouring an icing event for Southern Ontario and potential disruption before super cold conditions head in behind.

I remember some of the icing events we've had here and they are not pretty, however i wasn't here when probably the most famous of ice storms affected Ontario and in particular Montreal back in the 1990's causing significant damage, loss of power and $ to the Canadian economy.

Alot going on over the next 7-10 days and winter heads into the mid-term phase. P.S. Notice Graeme, something called the SSW over the pond may, i will say it again ''may''! brill proper winter to your shores inside the same time-frame. Fingers are crossed for you to break you snowduck before January is out!

Have a brilliant weekend everyone.

Afternoon all and a belated Happy New Year to all the regulars on this thread.

This post will no doubt be buried shortly under the weight of the snow-related threads on potential events this side of the pond (Stewart, I'm ever hopeful but always realistic, still with over two years since the last event I'm certainly due some accumulating snow!).

Anyway, top story is the blizzard just getting underway in eastern Newfoundland. How's this for a warning:

For the Terra Nova area, Clarenville area, Avalon and Bonavista Peninsulas: Snow will begin this afternoon and become heavy tonight. Total snowfall amounts will range from 25 centimetres over the Terra Nova area to near 70 centimetres over the Northern Avalon and St. John's Metro area. Winds will steadily increase today with gusts near 110 km/hour overnight and into Friday. These high winds, combined with the heavy snow will give near zero visibilities and blizzard conditions tonight and Friday.

http://weatheroffice.gc.ca/warnings/report_e.html?nl21

A classic NF snowstorm and probably somewhat overdue. Webcams to watch: http://www.ntv.ca/cams/othercameras.php

A nasty winter storm will also effect the Prairies, including Winnipeg but in between it's turned mild in southern Ontario with milder to come over the weekend. High temperatures up to a balmy +10c in Toronto by Saturday.

However, it may not last long. Nice piece here from Joe Lundberg, who is certainly no cold ramper: http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-blogs/lundberg/shiver-me-timbe/3888124

If the SSW plays out that way you may be plunged into the freezer second half of the month, Stewart!

Hello all, lots of great updates over Christmas, nice to see all the pics.  I'm going to have to snap a few as we had a big dump Weds/Thur.  Blizzard conditions for a while, not nice driving!  9" (23cm) on the ground now, with temps about -15C.  Stays like that for a few days then we're due a Chinook.  Slush central I'm sure then.  :-)   The 20cm that fell was not well forecast - they had us at 2-4cm (cue embarrassed forecasters mumbling something about unexpected snowfalls).  Still, it's very nice to see when the snow is crisp and even, the air a deep cold and not a cloud in the sky, as it was today!

Peter

July 2012 - June 2013 Stats
Elevation: 1084m
Latitude: 51° 6' N
Warmest Temperature: 30.5c 09/07/12
Coldest Temperature: -25.6c 24/12/2
Days with thunderstorms: 8
Days with rain falling: 23
Days with snow falling: 35
Days with snow lying: 78
Maximum snow depth: 9" (23cm)
Current snow depth 9" (23cm)

Indeed, yes, very mild Tally, before cooler air moves in next week. Toronto forecast to reach 13c early tomorrow.

Meanwhile the NF blizzard gave 52cm of snow to St John's. I really enjoyed this article: http://www.cbc.ca/news/yourcommunity/2013/01/newfoundland-humour-shines-through-blizzard-tweets.html 

Not a place many people visit but I can testify as to the good humour and friendliness of the Newfies.

Ended up notably mild in Toronto yesterday with a high of +14.8c, almost as mild as the +17.6c I experienced back in January 2005. Even as far north as Timmins, ON the temp rose to +8c (average high -11c)

Temps back to nearer normal for the week ahead and still the potential for something much colder by next weekend.

Yes I remember when I first arrived in 2005 it was very barmy and strange to see those temps when snow was still around.  What I like about Toronto winter climate is more variety than here when you can get extreme mildness and real cold anytime unlike here get up to 11-12C then down to only 2-3C maxes.

Hi all never posted in here before but wondered if anyone can help? i am off to NYC on 16th Jan on my honeymoon and both me and my wife would love to see a good snowstorm while we are over there, the ensembles look very cold for the entire time we are there but very little in the way of precipitation, is the US climate harder for the ensembles to pick up snow storms too far in advance or is it just likely to be very cold and dry as the ensembles currently show? Thanks for any information you can give me

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/pics/MT8_New_York_USA_ens.png

Congratulations! I'm no expert by any means but as a long-time follower of NA weather I would say you have hit the nail in the head - ATM it looks like turning colder but likely to be fairly dry. The models have been toying with just how far how fast the real Arctic air progresses south and eastwards over the coming week so that remains to be seen but by next weekend it should certainly be chilly.

I wouldn't rule out seeing snow however, there are likely to be little disturbances running through from west to east as time progresses and though 'Alberta Clippers' tend to deliver more to New England than New York City you could see some accumulating snow. Keep an eye on Accuweather - Henry Margusity will be quick to ramp up any storm potential for the eastern seaboard.

Enjoy!

Hello folks, quite a dramatic change in the weather since early Jan, gone entirely is our snow replaced by flooding in some parts and incredibly mild temps as Graeme and Jiries commented on earlier in the weekend. A high of 17.3c for St.Catharine's, Ont. the highest temp for the whole of Canada on Saturday, it was 16.5c here! And yesterday despite the heavy rain, it reached 15.1c here in Dundas and a record high for Ontario of 16c for Vineland, just down the QEW.

Two big stories, the mild air firstly. It's a transitional affair as it grew gradually milder during last week and ballooned to record temps for the weekend. Saturday's high at the Airport was the mildest January day in Hamilton since 1995. However, it's days are numbered. Already colder today and again as discussed by Graeme we are awaiting the 'Artic express' to arrive mid-week. Still some doubt as to how cold, and whether there will be any snow with this.

The second story was the rain. Regulars will know that the forecast had called for storms to go thru Southern Ontario, contain a cold core and give either a good snowstorm or icestorm from it. In reality, St.John's, NL got hammered (a proper Atlantic Canada blizzard btw Graeme) and we got pushed by the jetstream to incredible warmth which triggered copuis amounts of rain. 44mm in Hamilton yesterday, onto the snowmelt has given localised flooding and a real soggy mess. That 44mm was also an all-time record for the wettest January day ever recorded at Hamilton Munro.

I've been keeping a keen eye on developments across in the other threads on TWO, seeing whether winter will hit Scotland or not and what my folks are dealing with. So far, from what i can tell....even Eastern Scotland hasn't seen a great deal of snow, Western Scotland away from high ground has been the same as here, a continued soggy mess from what hear. Maybe things change later this week??

Almost there for mid-way thru the longest month of the year (it feels that way, with work!!). Attentions turning to what the late winter and early spring will bring.

Take Care

God know how much excitement I will get if I am in Toronto right now.

http://www.wetterzentrale.de/pics/MT8_Toronto_Kanada_ens.png

I remember this in Jan 2005 when I experienced -25C 850's uppers before.

Following on from Jiries post earlier, we've gone from +6c at 11am last night to -6c at Midday today. Not quite as dramatic a temp change Jiries as the one you saw in Jan 2005 in T.O.?!! But still, very noticeable. Some big snowsqualls setting up just west of Hamilton in Guelph/Kitchener and points west with the passing of this cold front ushering in the super chilled temps after 10 days or so of quite mild weather.

EC have snow in the forecast in one form or another for Hamilton right thru this week, with the focus perhaps on a storm approaching later in the week. Details uncertain at this stage and yes though exceptional cold temps, the coldest of the winter so far projected for the GTA.

Daytime highs of -10, -11c for mid-week, -17 to -20c by night with w/c into the mid-20s minus range! Proper cold!

It normal for Toronto to get some extreme cold but never last weeks only few days then back up again.

True, usually get it once a year at some stage in a 'normal winter' which this one seems to be. 2011/12 & 2010/11 were not normal Ontarian winters, snowless and less cold for the most part.

This ain't Saskatoon or Winnepeg let alone Yellowknife though, lol! Sustained deep cold gets 'feirt' with the GTA!

Yes always deep cold in other places most of the time as they often get -20C day maxes and that you cannot go out and enjoy snow under those temps.

I note the BBC NEWS reports in Washington DC keep going on about a "freezing cold Washington, or sayb "Welcome to a very icy Washington, hello from a bitterly cold day in Washington etc" with regarding the inauguration speech but how cold is it for heavens sake!?

Let me check...!???

Oh just checked the weather and it's partly sunny and +2C in Washington DC!! BUT It can get colder! Goodness me they hype the cold as if it were the most matter of fact thing ever!!

I have a relative who lives in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada - on roughly the same latitude as Jersey. It's currently -34C with -43C windchill.
http://worldbuddy.com/buddy.cgi/CYQT

Here's what she says about it:

Hello folks, a week of extremely cold temps but no snow to talk about in the GTA for the most part, certainly not down here in Dundas/Hamilton. There was some light snowfall for Toronto mid-week and more significant falls in the shape of distinct lake-effect bands that affected Oakville over to Guelph and also East of T.O. up to Coburg which caused a huge pile up on the 401hwy.

It was extremely cold. Both Hamilton and Toronto early week had cold weather alerts in force and exposed skin the windchill which was down to -25 to -28c at one point started to suffer from the effects of the cold. Coldest daytime temp was -13c here, -20c by night. The coldest of the winter so far but not incredibly cold compared with a 'normal' colder Artic blast. And as i pointed out last week, the folks in Yellowknife would probably laugh at you!

It's currently -3c under cloudy skies ahead of the start of the week and a potential for a big news maker tomorrow. EC have an advisory out at the minute, which is likely one way or the other to be upgraded to a Watch/Warning later :

Special weather statement updated by Environment Canada at 11:30 AM
EST Sunday 27 January 2013.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Special weather statement for:
      City of Toronto
      Windsor - Essex - Chatham-Kent
      Sarnia - Lambton
      Elgin
      London - Middlesex
      Simcoe - Delhi - Norfolk
      Dunnville - Caledonia - Haldimand
      Oxford - Brant
      Niagara
      City of Hamilton
      Halton - Peel
      York - Durham
      Huron - Perth
      Waterloo - Wellington
      Dufferin - Innisfil
      Grey - Bruce
      Barrie - Orillia - Midland
      Belleville - Quinte - Northumberland
      Kingston - Prince Edward
      Peterborough - Kawartha Lakes
      Stirling - Tweed - South Frontenac
      Bancroft - Bon Echo Park
      Brockville - Leeds and Grenville
      City of Ottawa
      Gatineau
      Prescott and Russell
      Cornwall - Morrisburg
      Smiths Falls - Lanark - Sharbot Lake
      Parry Sound - Muskoka
      Haliburton
      Renfrew - Pembroke - Barry's Bay
      Algonquin
      Burk's Falls - Bayfield Inlet.

      Mixed precipitation tonight and Monday.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
==discussion==
A low pressure system developing over Colorado will track toward
Southern Ontario tonight and Monday.  Precipitation ahead of this low
will reach Windsor this evening, then the Toronto to Georgian Bay
area towards midnight, and finally the Ottawa Valley Monday morning.

Precipitation will start as snow, then change to ice pellets and
freezing rain.  Precipitation will change to rain for most areas
Monday, except near the Ottawa Valley Tuesday.  The main concern is
that the freezing rain may last for several hours before changing to
rain.  Latest indications suggest that freezing rain warnings will
likely be issued for a large part of Southern Ontario later today or
tonight as the event draws closer.

Snow amounts with this system will vary.  General amounts of 2 to
5 cm are expected south of a line from Southern Georgian Bay to
Kingston.  From Parry Sound to Ottawa and Cornwall, 5 to 10 cm of
snow are forecast.  The highest amounts are likely to be over the
Burk's Falls and Algonquin regions, which may see 10 to 15 cm or more
of snow.

The exact timing and amount of the precipitation will depend on the
track of the low.  As this system is developing, there is some
uncertainty in the exact track of the low.  Environment Canada is
monitoring this system closely and will issue further statements and
warnings as necessary.

Motorists and pedestrians are advised to be prepared for hazardous
winter travelling conditions due to the freezing rain and snow.
Untreated surfaces may become icy and slippery.  Low visibility in
areas of heavier snow may also contribute to hazardous winter driving
conditions.

The public is advised to monitor future forecasts and warnings as
warnings may be required or extended.

Ice storms aren't a regular occurance for Southern Ontario and as you can imagine they cause major problems especially if your driving in it! Snow before is another hazard as it will freeze below the layer of Ice and then get washed into the Ice if the forecast is correct. As the advisory says considerable doubt at the minute as to how long the Freezing rain will fall versus Snow or Rain, but the potential is there for the morning rush hour for some fairly big problems.

I watched with interest the cold and snowy weather back in the UK last week. Not insignificant for some areas by the sounds of it, i know family in the Yorkshire dales had over 4ft. Back in Ayrshire, higher ground did have some large falls but most of populated areas SW of Glasgow had at most an inch to 3 from reports. I hope you finally broke your snowduck in Fife Graeme?

Won't be able to post on what happens tomorrow with the weather as i'm headed to Ottawa tonight for a conference until Thursday. Getting out of town before the storm hits or something like that.....looks like the Ottawa valley might actually stay all snow from this system so could be fun and games up there also.

Have a great week everyone. Take Care