Unusually mild temperatures continued to heat up southwestern Ontario Wednesday as record-breaking highs hit the region.
Windsor had a record-breaking high of 17 C. The current record in Windsor for this day is 12.4 degrees set in 1984.
The warm weather is an extention of the mild Family Day weekend, which also saw record-breaking temperatures.
Environment Canada says the above-seasonal temperatures across Canada are due to a shift in slow patterns in the atmosphere, which is bringing up warm air from the American southwest and deep South.
David Phillips, senior climatologist at Environment Canada, calls the unusual temperatures a “false spring,” and said he’s been surprised a number of times this past winter.
“We’re seeing records clobbered and smashed,” he said in an interview with CTV’s Your Morning on Wednesday. “Temperatures that have gone up to 18 degrees, the previous record was 11 – it’s a different world.”
The duration of the warmth is also surprising. “You often see in February one- or two-day wonders,” Phillips said. “It warms up and then it’s a surprise, and then all of a sudden, winter comes back.”
But with a record-breaking 10 days of warmth behind us, “we’re seeing one of the longest February heatwaves that I’ve ever seen."
With files from CTVNews.ca.
