What a difference it is from two years ago, when we were reeling from a crippling ice storm. Millions of people across portions of Southern Ontario were enduring what was dubbed the Nightmare Before Christmas. And last year, we were talking about the polar vortex. But this December and holiday season have been extraordinarily mild and snow free. The previous high temperature record in Toronto on December 24th was in 1964 when it was 12.2 degrees celcius. That temperature has been surpassed today in Toronto with a high of 17 expected before it dips to 10 for the afternoon.

Environment Canada’s Senior Climatologist David Phillips says this is a whole different scene than what we experienced as kids.

“Back in the old days, my gosh, dependent upon whether you lived south of the 401 in Toronto or north, it was maybe a 65 percent (of snow) if you lived north of it. If you lived south of it, maybe a 50 percent chance of it. Those were in the days when parents of today were kids back in the 60’s and 70’s, and now, it’s really it’s a 40 percent chance, so we know that it is a tough call because of the urban heat island, Toronto is just a little warmer,” Phillips told Zoomer Radio’s Goldhawk Fights Back.

A quiet, mild Christmas Day is in the forecast for the GTA, with good travel conditions.