Headhunter Posted December 18, 2007 Report Share Posted December 18, 2007 As we are somewhat between seasons, I thought I'd ask this question during a relatively quiet time on the board. I have noticed over the years that when a storm is approaching Toronto, Environment Canada will issue a "weather warning" to Peel region, Durham region and York region. In most cases, Toronto proper does not get the warning, nor does it get the nasty weather that those regions receive. Don't get me wrong, I'm not slamming the good folks at Environment Canada here, I just don't understand how a storm/system can completely miss Toronto, yet slam all of the areas west, east and north of the city. So, my question for the weather types... what influences the weather that directly hits Toronto, that doesn't affect the surrounding area? Markham can be getting kicked in the teeth, yet Toronto doesn't. Is it the Lake that does this? Thanks for your responses! HH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canuck2fan Posted December 18, 2007 Report Share Posted December 18, 2007 (edited) Two things probably account for it. One you already mentioned the lake.... all along any of the great lakes it is quite normal for the snow to start about 8 to 10 miles inland especially early in the winter before the lakes form ice a few miles deep along their coast.... Been a long time since one of the Great Lakes has formed ice completely across. I wonder what that does, when it happens. Two the pollution and warmer air over the city might have some effect. It might raise the temp of the clouds enough so that snow can't fall until they get further inland. Edited December 18, 2007 by Canuck2fan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Headhunter Posted December 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2007 Good points Canuck2fan... but it is also a trend I notice during the hot summer months as well... hmmm, any other ideas? HH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raf Posted December 18, 2007 Report Share Posted December 18, 2007 toronto is the center of the universe. everything goes around us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Posted December 18, 2007 Report Share Posted December 18, 2007 everyone/thing tries to avoid toronto as much as possible ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iceguy Posted December 18, 2007 Report Share Posted December 18, 2007 (edited) toronto is the center of the universe. everything goes around us. Good one, Raf. Toronto get's protected really well from lake effect snow,unlike Buffalo or Barrie,the perdominant NW winds over 20-30 km/h get the squalls going. We in Toronto didn't avoid that last Colorado low. Edited December 18, 2007 by iceguy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camillj Posted December 18, 2007 Report Share Posted December 18, 2007 (edited) Well I am looking at about a foot of it here in the West end of the city ... so while I am sure others got it worse, we didnt get 'missed' and for the 24 hrs beforehand I saw the weather warnings on the TV ... I am sure the lake effect is a major influence as is the Niagara escarpment on the west side of the city ....quite a major difference in climate above and below it Edited December 18, 2007 by camillj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhioFisherman Posted December 18, 2007 Report Share Posted December 18, 2007 everyone/thing tries to avoid toronto as much as possible ... LOL I thought it was Cleveland? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccmtcanada Posted December 18, 2007 Report Share Posted December 18, 2007 One thing about watches and warnings for Durham region, lots of times it's for northern Durham region...again...away from the lake as mentioned before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solopaddler Posted December 18, 2007 Report Share Posted December 18, 2007 Being a weather guy, without getting into technical details, Toronto's weather or lack thereof, is generally determined by lake effect weather and prevailing winds. Pollution and warmer air around the city is not a viable factor . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Photoz Posted December 18, 2007 Report Share Posted December 18, 2007 I'ma gonna have to call in the REAL expert on this . . . Oh h h h Vaselin n n n n e . . . . Oh yoo hoo . . . . we need your knowledge here!! I'm sure you'll get a good answer now!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest skeeter99 Posted December 18, 2007 Report Share Posted December 18, 2007 (edited) it is a phonomena called HEAT ISLAND EFFECT warmer are in city rises creating a bubble and weather comes in and deflects off of it goes several miles up the weather network did a peice on this a while back on tv, most large cities experience this here is a link http://www.physorg.com/news73138019.html Edited December 18, 2007 by skeeter99 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerritt Posted December 18, 2007 Report Share Posted December 18, 2007 Being a weather guy, without getting into technical details, Toronto's weather or lack thereof, is generally determined by lake effect weather and prevailing winds.Pollution and warmer air around the city is not a viable factor . I think I will side with SP here... he is in the business after all... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trapshooter Posted December 18, 2007 Report Share Posted December 18, 2007 everyone/thing tries to avoid toronto as much as possible ... LOL! Terry wins! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solopaddler Posted December 19, 2007 Report Share Posted December 19, 2007 it is a phonomena called HEAT ISLAND EFFECT warmer are in city rises creating a bubble and weather comes in and deflects off of it goes several miles up the weather network did a peice on this a while back on tv, most large cities experience this here is a link http://www.physorg.com/news73138019.html Shepherds study was based on cities located in an arid environment. Needless to say southern Ontario is not an arid environment . Regardless, I doubt local forecasters in Phoenix are factoring in "heat island effect" when they make their predictions. His study is based on more long term analysis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfish1965 Posted December 19, 2007 Report Share Posted December 19, 2007 You will often notice that storms dissipate in summer right before hitting Niagara as well. This is because of the lakes. If the lakes are cooler than the summer storm, they can reduce the energy in a storm like when a hurricane hits colder water. Thunderstorms especially need heat to develop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now