Londoners feel the chill as May temperatures dip near historic lows

Londoners are putting their coats back on following a few solid days of warm weather earlier this month as unseasonably low temperatures set in across southwestern Ontario.

Daily average temperatures hovered near 10 C this week, with the mercury only rising by a few degrees on average for the rest of the month, according to Environment Canada. 

The last time the London region had temperatures this low was in 2008. The weather in May can vary but the timing and duration of this cold front is somewhat unusual, explained meteorologist Geoff Coulson.

"It is rivaling some temperatures that we haven't seen for a while," he said. 

The coldest May in London was in 1967 with an average daily temperature of only 8.5 C, with nightly lows often dipping into the negatives. Coulson pointed out that this year is not that cold but there are some other, less extreme examples in recent history. 

From May 10 to 22, 2008, London experienced a cold stretch similar to this one, Coulson said. During the latter half of that month, most nights saw temperatures drop to the low single digits, roughly the same as they are doing this week.

Bundle up!

On Wednesday afternoon, Chahanne Almaquin and Gazelle Ignacio were downtown, walking in the rain and braving the chilly weather.

"I just feel so cold, I'm very new to Canada," Almaquin said. "The weather surprised me." 

Almaquin moved to London two weeks ago from the Philippines, so she experienced the sharp temperature drop over the long weekend. It's been better since some of her friends took her shopping for warmer clothes, she said. 

Ignacio said her only concern is her upcoming camping trip with the forecast showing more cold, rainy weather for the weekend she plans to leave. 

"The weather is changing from time to time, so we're just hoping that it's gonna be good," she said. 

What's ahead for summer?

Coulson forecasts that the daily average for May will be 12.3 C, only about one degree below the long-term May average of 13.5 C. 

The good news?

Coulson said there's no indication the summer will be cool. In fact, he said models are predicting warmer than usual temperatures by the second week of June. Until then, Coulson advised anyone going outside to make sure they dress to the current conditions and keep their layers handy.