Temperatures well below seasonal in Ottawa with ‘patchy’ frost possible

With lows near zero, it’s possible that frost could develop overnight Monday, Environment Canada warns.

A frost advisory was issued by the weather agency as it could damage some crops and plants if steps are not taken. The “patchy” frost should dissipate when the sun comes up on Tuesday.

It follows an unsettled Monday in the nation’s capital, with possible thunderstorms and rain. Temperatures are expected to hit 12 C, well below the 19 C normal for this time of year.

Typically, temperatures drop to 8 C, but consistently in the last month, Ottawa has seen temperatures near or below 0 C.

In March, CityNews chief meteorologist Natasha Ramsahai anticipated a slow start to summer.

“We’ll likely see still a lot of mixed precipitation, possibly still some flurries, freezing rain and ice pellets … at least for the first half of spring, or at least the rest of March, and then that will transition to rain here as we go through April and May,” she said previously.

Ramsahai says cooler temperatures are a result of a “leftover lobe of the polar vortex.”

“That’s going to allow a lot of cold air to spill south here across the eastern part of the country,” she noted.

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