After a mild fall, winter is making its impending reign over the GTA known, with Toronto seeing the season's first dusting of snow this week after a rapid switch to more frigid temperatures.

Even if you deplore the cold's arrival, it's hard to deny that the white stuff does generally help to boost the holiday spirit. But will these new conditions last long enough to bring us a white Christmas this year?

In the coming months, Ontario is on track to be indundated with far more snow and ice than last winter thanks to a La Niña pattern that will bring above-normal amounts of precipitation. But, one new outlook is now poking holes in the dream of the city turning into a winter wonderland by the month's end.

The Old Farmer's Almanac released its 60-day extended forecast for Southern Ontario on Tuesday, with a daily breakdown of what residents can expect for the region through to the end of January. And unfortunately, it doesn't appear the authority is predicting conditions favourable to snow accumulation on and around December 25.

In the days leading up to the holidays, from December 14 to 19, the Almanac expects either snow or rain showers across the south of the province along with "not as cold" temperatures.

Then from December 20 to 28, right around Christmastime and the beginning of Hanukkah, it states skies will clear up for some sunny days with warm temperatures for this time of year — not ideal for blizzards.

Those hoping for snowglobe-like conditions shouldn't write the chances off just yet, though, as some meteorologists say we're still a bit too far away from the week of festive cheer to be able to know for certain what the weather will look like by then.

"It's a little too early to be talking about if there could be a white Christmas in Toronto, but it certainly looks like we're going to be looking at colder than normal temperatures to start off the month of December, with some snow flurries in the air for the GTA," Environment and Climate Change Canada Meteorologist Geoff Coulson told blogTO last week.

Speaking again on Wednesday in regards to the Almanac's outlook, he added that forecasts show "temperatures bouncing around a fair amount in the weeks leading up to Christmas," which makes the call on whether it will indeed be a White Christmas even harder at this point.

It is worth noting that historically, the odds also just aren't in our favour, with a lower and lower chance of the city seeing snow around the end of December as the years go by.

"Toronto in general, across the GTA, used to have about a 68 per cent chance of a White Christmas. In the last 25 years, we're down to about 40 per cent," he said.

The Weather Network's 14-day forecast, at the time of publication, shows sun and highs of around 4 C on Dec. 14 and 15, which will transition into snow and wind under overcast skies by the 18th, with thermometers dipping below zero overnight. If these patterns persist, we could get just enough of a sprinkling amid close-enough-to-freezing temps for the snowfall to stay.

As Coulson says, "it's most important to know what the weather is going to do the week before Christmas: if we do get enough snow, even if there's mild weather around Christmas, is there enough to stick around?"

"Next week, we may be on the mild side. The week after may be more seasonal, and then around Christmas itself, maybe a little milder again, as the Almanac hinted at. So we're playing the odds, which aren't that good, but I think in another week or so, we'll have a better sense of how the next two weeks of December are going to unfold."

Looking further into December and January, the Old Farmer's Almanac is anticipating colder temperatures and "heavy" snow in the west of the province around the end of the year, and a potential mix of rain and snow in the eastern regions. Overall, December will be slightly warmer than average, with more precipitation than usual.

The first bit of January will also be chilly, alternating between snow and sun until the 15th. After that point, it will be colder with flurries punctuated by some sunny periods, with temperatures hovering around - 8 C and typical snowfall levels for the month.