CORNWALL, Ontario – Let’s get the good news out of the way first – it’s only 16 weeks until spring.
The bad news: we have to get through what could be a cold, snowier winter than 2014 before we can enjoy the annual spring thaw.
The Weather Network released its annual winter forecast Tuesday, with meteorologists suggesting the Cornwall area could see more snow than last year, with temperatures plunging to make it feel just as frigid as last year, at times.
“You probably don’t like what you see,” said Doug Gillham, a meteorologist at The Weather Network. “The pattern will resemble last year, but we don’t think it will be as hard or cold as persistently as last year.
“There will be some welcome interruptions.”
But the snow…oh, the snow.
Gillham said there is the potential for more of the white stuff this year because models suggest an increased number of storms could blow through our region.
“This year we expect an active storm track,” he said. “So it might not get as cold (as last year for as long) but there could be above average snowfall.”
The devil is in the details. If storms that creep up the east coast come further ashore then we will get dumped on more often. If those storm track further east, then we could be spared.
Gillham said a weaker El Nino, which can typically flood Canada will pleasant warm temperatures from the Pacific Ocean, will keep things cooler this winter.