The average high
temperature in Toronto in January is minus 1 degree. I’d have guessed lower. Each year, near the end of January, we have a
thaw, one of two weather singularities. (The other is called Indian
Summer.)
When I was a little
girl, my grandmother knew an old man who said, “I’ve seen thousands and
thousands of Januarys and never a one without a thaw.” Of course, this made me laugh. But as I’ve lived through my own thousands
and thousands of Januarys, I always remembered what he said and it seemed to be
born out. So, after a sunny, balmy 12
kilometres at minus 4 this morning, I thought I’d check out the science behind
the January thaw.
Temperatures for
our climate are expected to be at their lowest around January 23. (The highest around July 24.) Frequently,
around January 25, for about 5 days, temperatures are about 6 degrees above
normal. But it varies from year to year
and meteorologists don’t recognize the phenomenon because it isn’t consistent. They also can’t think of any reason for it to
happen. So – no science!
In the absence of
science, I’m going with faith. It just
make winter a little more bearable.
Sadly, I think we’ve had the thaw already. The temperatures for the next two weeks are
forecast to be well below seasonal norms.
Bundle up!
