If Environment Canada Meteorologist Peter Kimbell was a betting man, he said he would put his money on there being a green Christmas this year.
So far, the long-range forecast calls for a mix of sun and cloud and a high of 6 C in Windsor-Essex Christmas Day. In London, he anticipates 5 C.
"With a warm air mass flooding in from the southwest, and the jet stream is pretty much west to east flow, pushing in ever so slightly to the north bringing in that warmer air mass," explained Kimbell. "Yeah, it's going to be a non-white Christmas."
While the lawns in Windsor are green or brown, there is about five centimetres of snow on the ground in the next biggest city up Highway 401, so Kimbell said there's a small chance London will still have some white on the ground.
"The question really is how much of that will disappear with the warm temperatures before Christmas," Kimbell said. "I would say, probably, there will be patches on Christmas Day, but a lot of it will disappear."
While much of Eastern Canada is in the grips of frigid air right now, Southwestern Ontario has escaped the cold for the most part, and the warm-up will start Friday.
"A high of plus two and then a high of plus five on Saturday," said Kimbell. "We're going to be way above normal for the next few days, and there's no significant snow producing system in sight."
Average highs for this time of year in Windsor are 1 C and -1 C in London.
In the last 31 years, Windsor has had 19 green Christmases. There have been 12 in London.
