You may have heard El Nino will give Southwestern Ontario residents a reprieve from winter this season, but don't count on it.
"All El Ninos are a little bit different."
Weather Network meteorologist, Kelly Sonnenburg says while the season will start out milder than normal, the cold temperatures are coming in January and February, so you might want to get your parka out of storage.
"December did start out a little bit milder (last winter) and then as we headed into January and February it did become colder and a little bit below seasonal," says Sonnenberg. "Kind of looks like a similar pattern this year."
As for snowfall, Sonnenburg says with the help of snow machines, skiers shouldn't be disappointed, but an exact prediction has been tough to pin down.
"A typical El Nino pattern does bring in a more active storm track up the east coast, and whether that trends a little bit further to the west into Southwestern Ontario, that's what we're a little bit more hesitant about."
The Weather Network released its winter forecast recently. It differs from a prediction in October from Environment Canada senior climatologist David Phillips that this winter would be milder than normal.
