Weather outlook for January 2025 in southern Ontario

The winter weather outlook for January in southern Ontario has arrived.

A blast of snow and cold conditions swept across the province for the start of winter.

The Gravenhurst area was hit particularly hard with an intense snowstorm prompting a state of emergency in late November. Snowstorms continued in December and this week up to 60 cm of snow was expected in parts of the province.

While there were predictions for a warmer than normal winter in Canada that doesn’t appear to be the case for early January.

It is too early for any certainty in long-range forecasts. But the Weather Network is predicting near-seasonal or colder-than-seasonal temperatures through the first half of January for Canada.

A polar vortex is impacting weather over Hudson Bay, which is creating “frequent shots of Arctic air” and producing lake-effect snow for parts of the Great Lakes region, the weather forecaster notes.

The second half of January, however, could start to see some milder temperatures. Near the end of the month temperatures could be near seasonal or above seasonal for southern Ontario.

The Farmer’s Almanac predicts nearly the opposite for southern Ontario. The start of January will be sunny with snow, turning to warmer temperatures in the second week followed by colder temperatures at the end of the month, the Almanac notes.

Normal temperatures for this time of year are from -2 C to around -10 C, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada.

January’s average temperature comes in at -3.5 C from 1991 to 2020 in the GTA, according to Environment Canada climate normals data.

Lead photo: Eugene Golovesov