Brief bout of sunshine before rain, snow returns

Arctic cold front on its way Julie Atchison breaks down an Arctic front that is slated to move into the region on Wednesday.

Sunshine returned to southern Ontario Tuesday as an area of high pressure centred over the upper Great Lakes briefly brought some dry air, generating calm conditions.

This will bode well for stargazing and a great night for the planetary alignment.  According to Star Walk, five planets will form a line across the evening sky. The alignment will include Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, Uranus and Mars.

The quiet weather conditions will be short lived, as a strong cold front is set to cross southern Ontario Wednesday with a mix of rain and snow. The narrow band of precipitation will be brief and will start close to noon in London with light rain, and a transition to snow through the early part of the afternoon.

A blast of bitterly cold air will follow and temperatures are set to drop below normal Wednesday night.

Here’s a look at the latest forecast:

Wednesday: Rain showers or flurries at times heavy beginning early in the afternoon then changing to flurries at times heavy in the afternoon. Local snowfall amount 2 cm. Wind becoming northwest 40 km/h gusting to 60 km/h late in the morning. High of 5 C with temperature falling to — 2 C in the afternoon.

Thursday: Sunny. High of 5 C.

Friday: Periods of rain. High of 11 C.

Saturday: Rain showers or flurries. Windy. High of 6 C

Sunday: Sunny. High of 6 C.