Canadians took in vastly different weather conditions on Saturday, from balmy and spring-like temperatures in southern Ontario to snow and frigid cold in Manitoba.

Residents in southern Ontario went outdoors in droves as double-digit temperatures in some regions broke records for the warmest Jan. 12 ever.

The temperature in Toronto hit 13 C on Saturday, which broke a seven-year temperature record. On Jan. 12, 2006 the mercury in Toronto hit 9.6 C.

With the mercury in the double digits, it felt more like late April with balmy temperatures melting most, if not all, of the snow on the ground in the Greater Toronto Area.

Temperatures across a large swath of southern Ontario, stretching from Windsor to Ottawa, were expected to hit between 10 to 15 degrees above normal values, said Environment Canada in a special weather statement.

Normal temperatures for Toronto at this time of year range from -9 to -2 C.

The warm weather will continue into Sunday, with an expected high of 13 C and a 40 per cent chance of precipitation for Toronto.

By Monday, temperatures in the Greater Toronto Area will drop back to seasonal norms, with an expected high of 0 C.

Manitoba, Newfoundland walloped with winter weather

Meanwhile, residents in Winnipeg and St. John’s spent Saturday digging their way out, after fierce winter storms hit the cities on Friday.

Manitoba’s Highway 1 between Brandon and Virden reopened Saturday morning, after being shuttered Friday due to poor driving conditions.

The blizzard caused multiple accidents and cars to slip off the roadways. Police continue to warn of dangerous driving conditions, as temperatures fall to – 23 C with wind gusts up to 60 kilometres per hour.

Across the country, snowplows in St. John’s were working hard to clear the nearly 50 cm of snow that was dumped on the city on Friday.

“When you get this amount of snow, you can imagine when it rains, it’s like trying to snow blow concrete,” resident Andrew Woolgar told CTV News.

The storm caused the closure of the city’s airport and knocked out power for thousands of residents.

The St. John’s International Airport said it would remain closed until midnight, as crews worked to clear the runway.

The storm knocked out power to as many as 75,000 people. Newfoundland Power spent Saturday working to restore power to roughly 2,700 households in the Avalon Peninsula and central Newfoundland that remained in the dark, spokesperson Michele Coughlan said.

With a report from CTV’s Atlantic Bureau Chief Todd Battis