It was hard to dress for the weather this past weekend as Toronto saw rain, snow, and sunshine in the span of 24 hours, bringing what may have felt like all four seasons to the city. But this sort of \u201cwhiplash weather\u201d is common this time of year, according to one climatologist.<\/p>\n
At around noon on Saturday Toronto had a temperature of roughly 19 C and then 24 hours later, that temperature dropped nearly in half to 8 C<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cThe winds were coming from the southeast at 10 (a.m.), so this warm air coming up from the United States into Toronto and it was delightful,\u201d climatologist David Phillips said in an interview with CTV News Toronto. <\/p>\n \u201cYou had some rain coming, you had about seven millimetres of rain come around noon hours, so it was clear in the morning, but cloudy in the day and it was raining at noon.\u201d<\/p>\n By Sunday, winds were gusting up to 33 km\/h at around noon, Phillips said, with snow flurries reported in some parts of the city later in the day.<\/p>\n \u201cFour seasons in one day, certainly in a 24-hour period,\u201d Phillips said. \u201cSo really, all of the elements of weather were changing, the fact that you went from rain to snow, from light winds or moderate winds from the south to strong winds from the northwest, we saw the temperatures change \u2026 it was really a good, classic kind of contrast between warm air, cold air, but it\u2019s also exactly what April is about.\u201d<\/p>\n Transition between seasons<\/p>\n Phillips says this particular month is \u201ccruel\u201d because any sort of weather can happen, as April serves as a transitionary period between seasons. This is largely due to the positioning of the jet stream, Phillips says, as it changes its seasonal position from winter to summer. <\/p>\n \u201cThat jet stream normally passes over you and so that mixes the weather together,\u201d Phillips said, noting how it effectively wobbles back and forth during this time of year. <\/p>\n When its north of Toronto, which typically happens by May, the city is in warmer, moist air, the climatologist explains, but when it is south of us, like how it is in March, the stream brings on colder air.<\/p>\n When warm air mixes with cold air, that\u2019s when the \u201cweather wars\u201d break out and there are dramatic changes seen in weather, Phillips says.<\/p>\n \u201c(April) is a month where you get rain and snow, you get temperatures that could be double digit and up to 20 degrees and yet, getting days where it\u2019s all freezing morning, noon and night, where there\u2019s no melting at all possible,\u201d Phillips said.<\/p>\n \u2018Whiplash weather\u2019<\/p>\n Toronto\u2019s weather forecast for the week goes from chilly conditions<\/a> with temperatures feeling like they\u2019re in the negatives before jumping to the double digits by the end of the week. <\/p>\n Phillips dubs the pendular weather as \u201cwhiplash weather,\u201d as its not dependable and teases various weather conditions. The climatologist pointed to a common phrase spouted by those living around the Great Lakes.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you don\u2019t like the weather, wait around for five minutes or drive five miles,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n \u201cWe forget the transition seasons \u2026 and so what we have to deal with is this in-between weather that one day is this and the next day is that.”<\/p>\n