Helene sabotages southern Ontario's spectacular fall weekend weather
Helene could be a roadblock to what would otherwise be a spectacular fall weekend in southern Ontario
The final weekend of September will feature a wide range of conditions depending on where you are across southern Ontario.
While this weekend won’t exactly feel tropical, the tropics hold the key to whether or not we will see some rain this weekend.
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Helene made landfall in Florida as a major hurricane on Thursday, and will continue tracking across the southeastern United States through the weekend. The northern edge of the storm will clip southern Ontario, resulting in mostly cloudy conditions with scattered showers, especially towards Lake Erie. Most of the weekend will be rain-free, but the risk of passing showers will extend as far north as the Greater Toronto Area.
Meanwhile, abundant sunshine is expected for areas well to the north and northeast of Toronto, as this region will escape the effects of Helene.
Temperatures this weekend will be a few degrees warmer than normal, with most places reaching into the lower 20s, but a brisk east wind will keep temperatures a couple degrees cooler near the west end of Lake Ontario. Now that we are into late September, "normal" has dipped below 20 degrees.
First full weekend of fall starts out strong
We will head into the weekend with abundant sunshine on Friday, but we will see increasing clouds late in the day, especially to the south and west of Toronto.
Friday night will be mostly cloudy across southwestern Ontario and the Niagara region and partly cloudy to the north of Toronto. Temperatures will be several degrees above seasonal.
Closely eyeing Helene's remnants
Saturday will be mostly cloudy with scattered showers, especially across southwestern Ontario and the Niagara region, but passing showers will also reach into the Greater Toronto Area at times. However, most of the day will be rain-free and we will also see some peeks of sun, especially for areas north of the 401.
RELATED: U.S. concerns grow over soon-to-be Helene as it eyes Florida Panhandle
If you want to see more sunshine this weekend, head north! Pleasant late summer-like weather is expected across cottage country with high temperatures in the lower 20s.
Saturday night will be mostly cloudy and mild with scattered showers.
Sunday will be similar to Saturday - mostly cloudy with peeks of sun and a risk for passing showers, especially across southwestern Ontario and the Niagara region. Temperatures will continue to be a few degrees above seasonal but a brisk east wind will keep temperatures a couple degrees cooler near the west end of Lake Ontario.
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Pleasant weather is expected for Monday with a mix of sun and cloudy periods. Temperatures will be several degrees above seasonal.
During Tuesday, a cold front will approach southern Ontario and tap into the moisture from the remnants of Helene. This will bring widespread rain during Tuesday and into Tuesday night.
A couple days of cooler weather are expected during the middle of next week with temperatures near seasonal for early October.
At this point we expect that temperatures will be a few degrees above seasonal for the end of next week and into the first weekend of October.
