1) Snow Squalls, Strong Wind On Tap As Temperature Nosedives

Courtesy of Barrie360.com

Ian MacLennanPublished: Feb 28th, 2024

All four seasons wrapped in one day has taken shape in southern Ontario.

After a balmy start to Wednesday that brought rain and thunderstorms, and where the mercury touched 14 in Barrie, according to The Weather Network around mid-morning, a cold front plowed through during the lunch hour, sending the temperature into a nosedive.

While the flash freeze warning has been lifted for the Barrie, Collingwood, Midland and Orillia areas, it remains in place for Haliburton where ice could make for hazardous conditions on roads, sidewalks and in parking lots.

The wind across the region has gusted to between 70 and 80 km/h and will be a factor this evening and overnight as snow squalls begin to take shape.

A snow squall warning is in effect for the Barrie, Collingwood, Orillia and Midland areas, as well as Blue Mountains, while a snow squall watch remains in place for southern Simcoe County such as Innisfil, New Tecumseth and Essa, as well as northern sections of York and Durham regions including Newmarket and Beaverton.

Environment Canada says snow squalls will begin this evening and last through tomorrow morning, with local accumulations of 20 to 40 cm and peak snowfall rates of 3 to 5 cm per hour.

The strong wind will create near zero visibility at times in blowing snow.

If there is any consolation, a nice rebound is in store Friday with sunshine and a high near 10.

2) Mild Winter Means “Earliest Start” To Maple Syrup Season In 120 Years At Shaws’

Courtesy Barrie360.com, Ian MacLennanPublished: Feb 24th, 2024

Winter has never been able to get a stranglehold on Central Ontario this year, except for a few days here and there, and it has meant the “earliest start to the season” at Shaw’s Maple Syrup in Oro-Medonte.

According to owner Tom Shaw, 2023 was the earliest they have ever boiled maple syrup, on February 15, and that was eclipsed this month when the process began on February 9.

He says each year it is getting earlier and earlier.

Shaw says it doesn’t impact the business except that they just need to be ready to go at the first sign of warmth to tap the trees.

“I’ve been tapping this bush every year for 35 years and every single year I am tapping earlier,’ he says. “The sap is certainly running. It’s not deniable that there’s certainly climate change happening.”

Located on Line 14 South, the Shaw’s 80-acre property has 4,500 trees and a network of 30 kilometres of tubing that brings the sap to be boiled.

The public is welcome to walk through the bush or take a horse-drawn wagon ride.

“Our base of customers are generational that have been coming with their parents, their grandparents and now they are bringing their children here.”

Shaw says they also get many visitors from different parts of the world who are in the region at this time of year and want to see how maple syrup is made.

While the start of the maple syrup season is starting earlier, there is also a wind down to the season.

“The sap is being delivered to the top of the trees to feed it and to be used as energy to form buds on the trees,” Shaw explains. “When the buds come out on the trees, that’s when our season is over.”

He says that usually the first or second week of April.

Shaw says they try to produce about a thousand gallons of maple syrup each year, and in some years they can get up to fifteen-hundred gallons.

More information: https://shawscatering.com/