PHOTOS: Sneaky late-May wet snow in Ontario catches many by surprise

PHOTOS: Sneaky late-May wet snow in Ontario catches many by surprise

Many in southern Ontario were caught off guard Friday morning once they awoke to a frightening scene — wet snow, freezing rain and ice pellets.

With temperatures hovering just above the freezing mark in parts of the region, a low-pressure system that tracked south of the province Friday morning helped usher in wet snow, freezing rain, ice pellets to parts of the region. Much of the frozen precipitation is falling in higher terrains in the south.

NATTempPattern

“This pattern of a ridge to the north and low tracking to the south of the Great Lakes is your typical pattern where you can get freezing rain and ice pellets. This setup would be quite normal in the winter,” said Nadine Hinds-Powell, a meteorologist at The Weather Network.

“What is unusual though is that it is this late in spring and the cold air intrusion into the moisture is this far south in Ontario.”

There were reports of ice pellets and large snowflakes less than 10 km northwest of Milton, Ont., on the escarpment, with a light dusting on some surfaces.

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The rest of the region, however, where temperatures are warmer, is seeing precipitation manifest as rainfall — something that is much-needed to combat the growing drought situation. Areas along Lake Erie shorelines will see 15-20 mm of rain through Friday, but elsewhere in the south will see 5-15 mm.

Here is a selection of the snowy scenes that are currently making the rounds on social media.

Milton snow/Joe Brazeau

There were reports of ice pellets and large snowflakes less than 10 km northwest of Milton, Ont., on the escarpment, with a light dusting on some surfaces. (Joe Brazeau).

Thumbnail courtesy of Jeanne, taken in Eugenia, Ont.