Some call Victoria Day the unofficial start of summer. The real question is: why?
This year's long weekend won't be a washout, but it also won't exactly feel like June, July or August. The GTA is in for a cooler than normal three days, with highs in the mid-to-upper teens. It should be about 20C at this time of year.
But it's the rain that may put a real damper on some of your plans, at least at the start. Saturday will dawn wet and grey with a 40 per cent chance of heavy rain sometime during the 24 hours. And blustery winds out of the west gusting from 30-50 km/h likely won't have you thinking summer. It will be the warmest of the trio, though, with highs close to 19C.
Sunday isn't much better. There's a 60 per chance of showers in the forecast and it will only reach about 16C.
Fortunately, it looks like we may go out on top. Holiday Monday may be the best day of the weekend, with a mix of sun and cloud and highs holding steady at 16C.
Cottage country temperatures should average around 13C all weekend.
But remember the nights here and there will be cool, dipping to the upper single digits on the last two days of the holiday.
Which brings up the question: why does it always seem to rain on the Victoria Day long weekend? If that's your impression, it's not wrong. A scan of the record book from Environment Canada shows there's been at least some trace of rain on 15 of the past 20 years worth of holidays in May.
That means there have only been five near perfect Victoria Day weekends in the last two decades. They came in 1988, 1991, 1994, 1999 and 2003.
Five had between a trace and a small amount of precipitation. But nine had at least one day of very heavy rain, making a soggy mess for the plans of millions.
Still, all of those are better than what happened in 2002. That was the year winter refused to end and it actually snowed on the holiday Monday, a very depressing way to unofficially start your summer.
Check the forecast here.
Read meteorologist Michael Kuss's latest blog
Why Isn't Victoria Day Actually On the Queen's Birthday?
Many of us call it the May 2-4 weekend, but the truth is it rarely actually falls then. May 24th is the day the monarch was born, but in the interests of giving you a long weekend, the date gets played with.
A law passed in 1952 states the holiday must be held on the Monday before the 25th. That means that out of the last 20 years, there have only been three times when the old Queen's birthday actually fell on the day she was born - for those keeping track of such minutiae, they came in 1993, 1999 and 2004.
And ironically, Victoria's old home doesn't celebrate with us. The Queen's birthday isn't a holiday in England until June.