PAGE 6 THE ACTON MONTHLY VOLUME 1, ISSUE 4 Acton & Area experiences contrast in weather this winter If you think that this winter has seen major swings in weather, you are not alone on that thought. During late December and into January, Acton and area saw quite the contrast in weather, with conditions being cold and snowy at Christmas and warm and mild by the new year. According to Ei Canada M 1 Gerald Cheng, the changes seen over the last week of 2022 and into early 2023 were caused by variations in the Jetstream. “We had some arctic air that came with that big storm that happened on Christmas eve, and very quickly after that air mass was in place, by boxing day, things began to warm up again... It was a Colorado low and that is why we were seeing that warmer surge of air.” Historically, Cheng says the highest mean- average in temperature for January on record was 0.2°C in 2006, compared to this January having a mean-average of 1.0°C. Interestingly, mild winters are nothing new in Acton, with them being recorded as far back as the winter of 1847/48, thanks to Acton merchant John Holgate’s diary. In Holgate’s diary, for the entry of February 9th, 1848, he stated, “The weather so far has been unusually mild and open—no sleighing yet and an atmosphere some days as balmy as spring...” It wasn’t until February 29th, 1848, when he would report in his diary, “At last, snow and sleighing has come—a fall of about nine inches yesterday.” Now, coming back to the present, Cheng expects this warmer-than-normal weather to continue throughout February and possibly into March, thanks to the hovering of a Colorado low. While warmer temperatures hanging around 0°C are expected, Cheng cautions that we may still see some surprise drops in the temperature as the possibility of arctic blasts are always present for this time of year. As for precipitation, it is predicted to see more rain or freezing-rain, with some flurries, as the temperature hovers around the freezing mark. 67 MILL ST. E. ACTON, ON L7J 1H4 Bianald Kenneth LAW OFFICE RONALD K. HENRY B.A.(HONS) LL.B Email: ronhenrylaw@gmail.com TEL.: (519) 853-1160 Fax: (519) 853-2042