"Degrees" of Latitude
Meaford, on the south shore of Georgian Bay, is about 1 degree of latitude north of Toronto. That puts it at around 45N, or exactly halfway between the Equator & the North Pole.
A few degrees of latitude make a big difference in when the seasons commence & finish in this part of North America. For example, I am currently in Omaha, which a bit more than 41 N, whereas Toronto itself is nearly 44N. At 70 miles per degree, that works out to less than 200 miles closer to the North Pole for Toronto, and yet winter hangs on much more tenaciously at this time of year. By early April temperatures are often in the low 70s in NE, whereas Toronto hovers just above freezing for all of March, rising to the low forties by the first weeks of April.
The situation's even worse in Meaford & other snow-belt areas of S Ontario (unless you're a skier). Winds come off chilly Lake Huron keeping snow around well into April, so that Omaha already has spring blossoms out on the trees, while Meaford won't see green leaves until the beginning of May. In other words, those 250 miles of latitude mean not only a month more winter when spring is hoped for, but also account for the earlier onset of winter by a similar period at the end of the year. So you're looking at nearly 6 months of winter versus 4 months, or 50% more cold days.
Early snowfalls at my little farm can catch you by surprise, but also often bring a certain beauty. The picture above shows some forgotten apples left on a tree and caught by a late October overnight snowfall. In Toronto this would have fallen as rain.
A few degrees of latitude make a big difference in when the seasons commence & finish in this part of North America. For example, I am currently in Omaha, which a bit more than 41 N, whereas Toronto itself is nearly 44N. At 70 miles per degree, that works out to less than 200 miles closer to the North Pole for Toronto, and yet winter hangs on much more tenaciously at this time of year. By early April temperatures are often in the low 70s in NE, whereas Toronto hovers just above freezing for all of March, rising to the low forties by the first weeks of April.
The situation's even worse in Meaford & other snow-belt areas of S Ontario (unless you're a skier). Winds come off chilly Lake Huron keeping snow around well into April, so that Omaha already has spring blossoms out on the trees, while Meaford won't see green leaves until the beginning of May. In other words, those 250 miles of latitude mean not only a month more winter when spring is hoped for, but also account for the earlier onset of winter by a similar period at the end of the year. So you're looking at nearly 6 months of winter versus 4 months, or 50% more cold days.
Early snowfalls at my little farm can catch you by surprise, but also often bring a certain beauty. The picture above shows some forgotten apples left on a tree and caught by a late October overnight snowfall. In Toronto this would have fallen as rain.
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