It's time Toronto to turn back the clocks - and get ready for some chilly winter weather and possibly some snow.
Okay. First, don't forget turn your clocks back one hour on Sunday, Nov. 3 at 2 a.m. You're welcome.
Second, what about that snow?
According to forecasters at The Weather Network, southern Ontario has already tasted its first snowfalls as chilly, winter conditions have arrived, and will continue.
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"These lake-enhanced snow squalls will continue for areas south and east of Lake Huron and Georgian Bay including, Bruce, Grey, Huron, Simcoe and Dufferin counties," says Weather Network meteorologist Kelly Sonnenburg. "Snow will also continue to reach the western and northern edges of the Greater Toronto Area."
And in other bad weather news, Dr. Doug Gillham of the Weather Network says we're in for a colder than normal November. It'a all due to a cross polar flow delivering arctic air directly from Siberia to central Canada.
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After a very normal October in the GTA, the next two weeks, says Gillham, will be cold. Things will warm up slightly the last two weeks of November but Gillham warns:
"There are indications that we will eventually see a period of above seasonal temperatures across much of Canada before the end of the month. However, such pattern changes are often slower to develop than initially expected and it is unlikely that any milder weather will be able to offset the cold start to the month. As a result, we expect that the final numbers for the month of November will be colder than normal for most of Canada from the Prairies to Atlantic Canada with near seasonal temperatures for the B.C. coast, Newfoundland and Labrador."
The forecast high for Saturday in Toronto is 8 degrees with a 60 per cent chance of rain. Sunday's high will be 6 degrees and Monday's will be 8 degrees.
Next week, Toronto can expect very cold temperatures. Gillham warns there's a high risk for substantial lake-effect snow in the traditional snow belt regions.
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As for seasonal time changes, British Columbia is now moving toward becoming the second province in Canada to get rid of changing the clocks twice a year. That would make "daylight time" permanent. So, in the summer, for example, Vancouver will still be three hours behind Toronto. In the winter, the time difference would be two hours.
The historical main purpose of Daylight Saving Time is to make better use of daylight.
Saskatchewan already uses permanent daylight time. The government of B.C. said in September that 93 per cent of residents wanted to do away with changing their clocks twice a year, citing health and safety concerns (having the extra hour of daylight during the evening commute is a major attraction).
Then there's also the perception that heart attacks increase with the time changes.
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Earlier this year, Paul Taylor, Sunnybrook’s Patient Navigation Advisor, published a "reality check" about the health risks of losing an hour of sleep in the spring when the clocks "spring forward" and whether incidents of heart attacks and vehicle crashes increase.
Looking at the major studies and after consulting medical experts, Taylor concluded that "if you consider all the published research – and keep in mind that some negative (no-effect) studies never see the light of day – the heightened concern may not seem justified."
As Dr. Donal Redelmeier of the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre told Taylor regarding the heart attack theory: “One outlier study can sustain a lifetime of belief in an association. It then becomes extremely difficult to dispel the popular misconception.”
As for the studies regarding a spike in traffic crashes, Redelmeier told Taylor: "“Looking at the sum total of evidence – and not just one cherry-picked study – my impression is that, if there is an association, it is modest.”
Drive carefully.
