Is winter over already?

That’s the question that’s been on everyone’s mind since warm weather took over Toronto for much of December and January.

It was 1.5 degree Celsius warmer in December than usual, while temperatures were four degrees C higher in January.

Environment Canada is also forecasting a high of 7 C on Monday, a warm start to the first work week in February.

But Dave Phillips, a senior climatologist with the weather agency, warns we shouldn’t be too quick to pull out the lawn chairs and put away our parkas.

“We shouldn’t write the obituary on winter just yet,” he said.

While the next two months are poised to be a little warmer than usual, that doesn’t mean February will be just as warm as January, Phillips says.

Environment Canada is still anticipating business as usual, meaning we really still have to wait and see what happens before getting our hopes up.

December and January saw a typical amount of snow, though much of it melted away thanks to the high temperatures and rainfall.

January saw 24 days with temperatures above the freezing mark and only seven days under. Normally the month sees 18 days below the freezing mark and 13 above, he says.

The month also saw a much higher amount of rain than usual, 81 millimetres above what’s typical.

The coldest day was Jan. 20, when it dipped to -15 C.

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“It was probably one of the warmest Januarys in almost 15 years,” he told the Star. “It was like a Vancouver winter.”

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“The cold and snowy days were like one-day wonders.”

Phillips says the warm winter comes as the province has been seeing more warm air from the south with less cold air from the north. While he’s hesitant to point to climate change, he did say this winter might give us a preview of what winters could look like in the future.