It’s a February thaw like no other and record temperatures are being set across southern Ontario.
According to Environment Canada, previous record highs were shattered Wednesday and the sudden blast of mild weather made it feel like mid-April.
The national weather office says there is a chance some areas such as Toronto may experience the highest temperature on record for the entire month of February.
At Toronto Pearson International Airport the high was 16 C by Wednesday afternoon, breaking a 1991 record of 9.3 C
In Barrie the mercury reached 12.6 C, breaking the 1991 record of 11 C.
In York Region, temperatures reached 15.7 C at Buttonville Airport Wednesday afternoon, breaking the record high of 10.6 set in 1991.
In Kitchener, Wednesday’s high of 14.5 C set a new all time record for February and smashed the Feb. 26, 2000 record of 13.7 C.
Possibly one of the oldest records to fall was in Brantford, which broke a record high set in 1890 of 8.9 C, by hitting a balmy 13.9 C.
There was an unusual site along the shores of Lake Simcoe near Hawkestone, ice was breaking and piling up. This typically doesn’t happen until the spring.
Barrie's Winterfest is schedule for this weekend and organizers are doing what they can to improvise. The dog sled race has been cancelled and they're trying to preserve snow for the ice sculptures.
The weather experts say get used to this up and down temperature trend.
“We had five January thaws this year, not five days above freezing,” said climatologist David Phillips. “I think it’s the kind of pattern we see continuing.”
However, forecasters warn this doesn’t mean the region won’t see more snow.
“As long as the lakes stay open, we get some cold air from the north, we have that perfect recipe for producing those snow burst,” said Phillips.
