The past week's weather has been a sign of things to come for Sudbury as we head towards December and brace for winter.
Sudbury turned from green to white in a hurry as the Nickel City was blanketed in snow over the weekend and there's plenty more where that came from, according to Weather Network meteorologist Michael Carter.
"Sudbury has got quite a taste of winter already and that's looking like a sign of what's to come," said Carter. "The Great Lakes region and Sudbury, and most of Northeaster Ontario should be on the lookout for a very active winter."
It might be hard to top last year's snowfall for December, which nearly doubled the yearly average when 104.8 cm fell over the course of 31 days. The average snowfall in December for Sudbury is 63 cm and those averages drop off during January and February at 59.5 and 51.7 cm respectively.
Sudburians lucked out in a sense in the winter of 2016-17 as temperatures were well above average through January and February where average max temperatures were -4 degrees Celsius and -2.8 degrees Celsius, compared to averages of -8 and -5.5.
"It's going to be very different than last year, where December was very cold but then it warmed up as you moved into January and February," said Carter. "This year temperatures will be a lot closer to the average temperature with some cold shots moving through."
Water temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean are still above average for this time of year, which will contribute to more moisture in the air and increased amounts of precipitation.
While The Weather Network is projecting this winter to be colder than last year's, Carter says that lengthy cold snaps don't look likely.
"You'll get some cold shots where the arctic air comes through and temperatures drop, but it doesn't look like the cold air will hang around for too long," said Carter. "There won't be as many of those persistently brutal cold stretches."
Overall, most of Canada will be hit with a cold and snow-filled winter, as indicated in the The Weather Network's forecast, though Sudbury and most of Ontario may get off a little easy compared to our neighbours to the west.
"Certainly active is the case across all of Canada this year with above normal precipitation almost everywhere," said Carter.
"In the Great Lakes we're getting a little luckier than some in terms of temperatures because it looks like a lot of central Canada and back across Northwestern Ontario as far as Thunder Bay, they could really see some significant cold this winter in addition to the above normal snowfall they're expecting so it could be quite a brutal year for Saskatchewan and Manitoba."
More snow, colder temperatures, and cold snaps are all on tap for Sudbury this winter, but how long will it last? Will Sudburians still be shovelling their driveways as late as April or will Old Man Winter retire on time?
According to Carter, there isn't a lot of hope for an early spring and Sudburians should prepare for a full slate of winter weather.
"There's no signs right now of an early spring," he said. "That can always fluctuate and shift, and we'll be keeping an eye on it, but for right now it's looking more likely that winter will stick around for a while."
