WeatherSummaryforOntario March 2023: Stormy Fridays

Temperatures

AveragetemperaturesinMarchweremuch closer to normal than in previous months. The winter was marked by long periods of very mild weather interspersed with brief spells of intense coldweather.

In comparison, March temperatures were uneventfulinsouthernandeasternOntario.Forthe westernmost regions, temperatures were slightly belownormal,withanomaliesaslowas-3°Calong the Manitoba border due to a 4-day period of cold weather at the end of the month, when the temperature fell as low as -19.9°C on the 28th in Kenora.

Precipitation

The March precipitation record shows a significant contrast between the northwestern part oftheprovince,whichexperienceddryconditions, and the southeastern part, which had experienced similarconditionsuntiltheveryendofthemonth, when heavy rainfall events changed the picture considerably from Windsor to Kingston. Toronto receivednearly40mmofrainduringtheMarch25 stormandLondonreceived57.5mmonMarch31. NotethatinTorontoandOttawa,snowfallamounts, due to events at the beginning of the month, were above normal for March. However, the snow has now melted in the southern part of the province. Elsewhere, as of March 31, snow cover remains significant from the shores of Lake Superior northward.

SignificantEvents

March 3-4: First of the Friday storms to hit southernOntario snowfall amount at 40 cm. Geraldton and Kapuskasingreportedover30cmofsnowfall,and ChapleauandThunderBayreported25cmormore. Therewereseveralroadclosures,includingpartsof Highway 11, 17, Highway 577 near Timmins and Highway631nearWhiteRiver.

March 21-22: Snowstorm over northwestern OntariobreaksthecycleofFridaystorms

Entourée de sa famille est décédée paisiblement Marielle Lafrenière Fay âgée de71 ans de Welland Ontario.

Mariellelaissedansle deuil son époux Chris qui était à ses cotés depuisplusde50ans, ses enfants Kyle, Jaime (Lisa) et ses petits-enfants Kailah, RymeetSohler.

Elle a été prédécédée par ses parents AnicetetYvetteLafrenièredeChapleau,etpar sonfrèreClaude.Ellelaisseaussidansledeuil ses sœurs Micheline (feu Tony), Suzette (Blair), Louise (Jim), Joanne (Ralph), Carole (Tom),plusieursneveuxetniècesetsafilleule Kyra.MarielleavaitsaMaitriseenÉducationet adoraitsaprofessiond'enseignante. Ellesera dévouéejusqu'àsaretraite. Ellenelaisseque de bons souvenirs à ses élèves, ses camaradesdetravailetàsesamis.

La crémation a eu lieu et un service pourlafamilleauralieuceprintemps.

Des dons de sang au nom de Marielle ainsi que des dons commémoratifs à la SociétéCanadiennedusang(LaCroixRouge) seraientgrandementappréciésparlafamille

La famille Lafrenière

A winter storm brought heavy snow and strongwindstomuchofsouthernOntarioonFriday and Saturday. Thundersnow was observed so widely on Friday night that it resembled a summertime scenario. Scarborough, Orangeville, Trenton, Vaughan and Newmarket reported the most amount of snowfall, with 30 cm or more. Eldorado, Keene, Consecon, Brampton,Waterloo, Oshawa, Guelph, Hamilton and Stouffville each received 25 cm or more of snowfall. There were numerous collisions from Windsor to the Golden Horseshoe, including Niagara, one of which resultedinafatality.AportionofHighway6anda couple ramps in the Toronto area were closed and public transit in Toronto had multiple disruptions. Nearly one quarter of Toronto Pearson InternationalAirport’sflightswerecancelledahead of the storm. York and Toronto Metropolitan Universities closed into Saturday. Hydro One reported about 5000 customers without power in Windsor,BurlingtonandToronto.

March 10:Another Friday storm hits southern Ontario

Alow pressure system brought significant snowfallandblowingsnowtoportionsofsouthern Ontario on Friday, with the greatest impacts felt acrosstheGoldenHorseshoe.Snowfallamountsof over 15 cm were reported in Hamilton, Grimsby Mountain, Burlington, and Mississauga. There were many crashes across southwestern Ontario, including a 5-vehicle collision, which closed all expresslanesonaportionofthe401.Aportionof Highway 24 was also closed due to several collisions. The West Harbour GO train cancelled somestopsandallschoolbuseswerecancelledthat morninginWindsorandEssex.

March16-18:ThirdoftheFridaystormstargets northernOntario

Astronglowpressuresystemtrackedover northernOntario,bringingwidespreadheavysnow and blowing snow from late Thursday until Saturday night. Nagagami reported the highest

An early spring storm brought snow to northwestern Ontario on Tuesday evening and continuedintoWednesday.SilverHarbourreceived themostsnowfall,whichwas18cm.OnHighway 17nearNipigon,multipletractortrailerswerestuck orslidoffthehills,partiallyblockingtheroute.At least four collisions were also reported along Highway 17 from Wawa to Thunder Bay. In the morning,schoolbuseswerecancelledforThunder Bay, Kenora, Dryden, Sioux Lookout, Ignace and partialRedLake.

March 25-26: Yet another weekend storm and thefirstseverethunderstormwarningof2023

Strong winds associated with a low pressure system affected southwestern Ontario startingSaturdayafternoon.Snowyconditionsalso affected the northeastern Ontario, where Highway 11 was closed near North Bay. Hamilton Airport reported the highest wind gust at 103 km/h. WindsorAirport, Chatham-Kent, Brantford, Point Petre,LondonAirport,Vineland,andSt.Catharines each reported wind gusts of 90 km/h or stronger. Debris,presumablywindblown,closedafewroads in the Greater Toronto Area. In downtown east Toronto, the roof was blown off a Mercedes dealership,hampering traffic with metal debris on the road. At Port Maitland, an entire lighthouse was knocked down intothelakebyhighwinds.

IceConditionsintheGreatLakes

ThecombinedGreatLakesicecoverageon March 1 was 13.0%, about a third of the climatological average of 43.0% for the start of March. Above normal temperatures across the Great Lakes for the entire month of February did not allow ice to form at the climatological pace, resultinginlowerthanaverageiceconcentrations, especiallyinthesouthernGreatLakes.

Colder temperatures at the start of March allowed for the creation of some new and thin ice along the shores of the northern lakes. While this ice did not last, it kept the ice amounts from attainingrecordlowlevels.

Wearenowbeyondthepeakiceseasonon alltheGreatLakes.Lookingathistoricalicecover fortheGreatLakes,thecurrentweek’sicecoverage is 5% compared to the normal of 22%, so we are Cont’donP.5