Don’t let the warm spell fool you – after a brief taste of late-spring warmth on Good Friday, it’s back to chilly temperatures and periods of rain for the Easter weekend in Toronto – a fairly typical pattern for April in the city.
However a somewhat atypical reverse temperature trend will be seen throughout the weekend.
Saturday morning will start off chilly and cloudy ahead of a Colorado low bringing with it plenty of rain. Then temperatures are set to rise through the evening on Saturday before falling again on Sunday.
Don’t leave the house without your rain gear because around 20-30 millimetres of rain is expected from the afternoon into Sunday morning, with rain heaviest during the late evening.
There is a slight risk of thunderstorms which could lead to amounts approaching 50 mm in areas where the storms pass over. A special weather statement is in effect for the GTA for this expected rainfall.
Easterly wind gusts will reach 30-40 kilometres per hour through the day, especially windy near Lake Ontario.
The low pressure system moving through the GTA will also bring lingering showers through Sunday morning, though it looks like the vast majority of rain will fall Saturday night ahead of a cold front.
Saturday’s afternoon temperature will hover near 6C but will rise to 10C by midnight, exhibiting the reverse temperature trend. Average daytime highs for this time of year in Toronto should be about 9C.
Easter parade forecast
Cloudy and cool conditions are expected into Sunday afternoon, with wind ramping up out of the west.
The morning starts off at 10C and temperatures will fall to around 5C throughout the afternoon, continuing to drop closer to the freezing mark overnight.
By the evening, the wind combined with cold temperatures will trigger lake effect flurries through the traditional snow belts of southern Ontario, though some flurries may reach Toronto Monday morning.
During the Easter parade between 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., temperatures are expected to be between 4C and 6C. There’s also a 30 per cent chance of isolated showers and windy conditions, so take an umbrella or hooded jacket with you, just in case.
The forecasted high for Sunday is 10C and low is -1C.
