April showers have come a little early in Southern Ontario as the province celebrates its first day of spring on Thursday under partially cloudy skies and intermittent showers.

Now that astronomical winter is behind us — with meteorological winter having concluded with February's end — residents are indeed looking forward to some longer, more temperate days after what was a snowier season than we've seen in some years.

But what will spring 2025's weather look like in and around Toronto?

The shift from 2023 and 2024's El Niño weather pattern to this year's La Niña has made the last few months feel like a bit of a messy, stormy rollercoaster that has most recently been accompanied by 20 C temperature swings amid bursts of short-lived, summer-like conditions.

Wednesday, the final day of winter proper, was Toronto's warmest day of the year so far, with temperatures cracking 21 C before the city was rained out overnight. Temps have since dropped to single digits on Thursday morning before climbing back into the double digits approaching the afternoon.

Meanwhile, further north, areas around North Bay and Sudbury are still experiencing heavy winter storms — something that long-range forecasts are saying could last for another week or so as winter hangs around the province, including in the GTA.

"Spring will see a slow start with wintry conditions lingering across Great Lakes, Quebec and the Maritimes," reads the Farmers' Almanac spring outlook for Canada.

"Another red flag time frame is the first week of April, where we are forecasting an unusually late winter storm bringing a broad area of rain, sleet and snow across Atlantic Canada. Much of the rest of the country will see frequent and widespread showers."

In Ontario specifically, residents can expect aforementioned rain — echoed by other forecasts — that will become progressively cloudier and more "unsettled" as the month pushes on, with the potential for "spotty wet snow and flurries" until March 27th.

The almanac predicts things will clear up and become more pleasant for the last few days of the month, but warns us not to get too comfortable.

During the first few days of April, the outlook is calling for a sharp cold front that could "translate into a severe weather threat with thunderstorms capable of damaging winds, hail and even a funnel cloud or tornado" in the province.

This chilly period will be followed by more cloudy days full of passing showers as we close out the first week of the month, with temperatures not due to warm up until at least the second week of April.

Thankfully, The rain is supposed to clear up for a period around mid-month, with a few days that will alternate between "unsettled" and fair weather, including a generally sunny, comfortable Easter weekend that could devolve into some spring storms after Easter Monday.

Overall, April is anticipated to have an average temperature of 8 C, which is about normal for the south of the province, and a few degrees warmer than usual in the north. Like the last few months, we could also see more precipitation than is traditional for the rainiest month of the year.

ECCC's long-range temperature forecasts across Canada for March to May 2025.

Environment and Climate Change Canada's (ECCC) modelling extends a few weeks later into May but is far more vague than the Farmer's Almanac or Old Farmer's Almanac reports.

Temperature maps show that we will likely see 50-70 per cent warmer temperatures than what is typical between March and May this year, and slightly more humid weather as well.