Guelph received some pretty good snow for making snowpersons over the weekend, but Environment Canada says warmer weather later in the week may result in some rain.
The first significant snowfall of 2020 came a little later than last year, said Gerald Cheng, meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada.
Volunteers who record climate data noted snowfall as high as 18 cm over the weekend in Guelph and up to 21 cm in Kitchener.
“We do get snow sometimes in November and last year we had a big snow storm on November 11," said Cheng. "This one came a little bit later."
Guelph did receive a dusting of snow earlier in the month, but it melted shortly after as warmer than seasonal temperatures pushed the mercury to 22.8 C on Nov. 9.
Because November is a transitional period between fall and winter, Cheng said there can often be dramatic shifts in weather as the warm air masses from the south and cold air masses from the south battle it out.
"We had unbelievably warmer weather two weeks ago," said Cheng. “I think it was the contrast from the very warm to suddenly outright winter that has caught some people by surprise."
That surprise dumping of snow may have caught some people unaware and had an effect on driving habits.
"It takes time to get used to driving in this winter,” said Cheng.
The seasonal temperature for Guelph at this time of year is about 4 C.
Although the temperature is expected to warm up later in the week, Cheng said there may be one more small system coming through Guelph on Tuesday evening that could result in snow before changing to rain on Wednesday.
“Mid-week things will warm up back to seasonal and the overnight temperatures are going to go up as well," said Cheng.
