Record-breaking warmth, high winds sweep through Windsor

Windsor saw record-breaking temperatures Friday, surpassing a record more than 100 years old. CTV Windsor’s Chris Campbell has more.

Windsor unofficially shattered a more than century-old temperature record Friday as unseasonably warm air and powerful winds moved through the region, forcing the temporary closure of the Windsor’s new outdoor skating rink at City Hall.

According to Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), Windsor surpassed the previous Jan. 9 record of 13.3 C, set in 1880.

“The record for Jan. 9 in Windsor was 13.3 C from 1880. We have unofficially broken that record. last I checked at 11 a.m. Windsor did hit, the airport at 14.1 C. So unofficially, we have broken that record,” said Monica Vaswani, warning preparedness meteorologist with ECCC.

Vaswani said temperatures like Friday’s are rare for this date.

“We haven’t seen a temperature this warm on Jan. 9 for a long time,” she said.

Despite the record-setting conditions, Vaswani noted that brief periods of mild weather during winter are not unusual.

“It is not uncommon for us to see what we colloquially term ‘January thaw’ often does happen fairly commonly about once a winter or mid-winter so to speak, and that’s where we do get these warmer than usual temperatures, springlike conditions even. So, although this is record-breaking today, it’s not uncommon to see something like this at least once per winter season,” she explained.

Along with the warmth, strong winds prompted safety concerns across the region. Vaswani warned that wind gusts could reach extreme levels.

“You could see wind gusts up to 100, even 110 km/h possible. So those could be definitely dangerous, but along with those wind gusts, we’re also going to see that colder, Arctic-like air coming back into southern Ontario, including the Windsor region,” she said.

Vaswani told CTV News temperatures are expected to fall sharply over the weekend.

“So daytime highs are expected to drop significantly for Saturday, closer to and around the 3-to-4-degree mark. And then once we get to Sunday, we’re looking at back to around zero degrees. And daytime highs at this time of year are about -1 C. So, it is going to feel like winter again by Sunday,” she said.

The high winds also forced the temporary closure of Windsor’s new outdoor skating rink in front of City Hall, which features a refrigerated ice surface designed to operate during warmer conditions.

City councillor Renaldo Agostino said while the refrigeration system was holding up, wind-blown debris made skating unsafe.

“Yeah, it’s certainly been put to the test right now. And I’d be out here skating in shorts if it wasn’t for the wind. But it’s a beautiful day, the ice looks good. It looks like it’s just been Zamboni’d. But again, with these winds, you can see all the leaves on the ice. Makes it dangerous for the blades. So, you just can’t have the rink in these conditions,” Agostino said.

Vaswani also addressed questions about whether days like Friday’s are linked to climate change, stressing the difference between daily weather and long-term climate trends.

“Because of our jet stream, which really determines the track of our low-pressure systems, we can get these large fluctuations, one day warm the next day cold, one day freezing rain the next day rain. So that’s not uncommon. That’s just our day-to-day weather fluctuations,” she said.

“When we’re talking about climate change, though, we’re looking at more long-term trends. What we do know is that climate change does indicate that extremes are more likely to occur. So, an example like today can be identified as an extreme temperature situation.”