Unusual chance for some all-time December warmth over Canada's North
Blast of potentially record-setting warmth takes a rare stop in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut next week. All-time December records are in jeopardy.
Much of Canada took a pause on active weather this weekend with relatively quiet and mild conditions expect to dominate coast to coast.
That mild pattern will persist into the start of December, as well, for many.
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With no outbreaks of arctic air in sight, the mild -- and potentially record-breaking -- warmth will even extend into the Northwest Territories and Nunavut next week.
For some places like Whitehorse and Yellowknife, temperatures will rise 10-20 degrees above seasonal.
To put that into perspective, Yellowknife in particular has only ever seen temperatures rise above the freezing mark four times before in December. That's since record keeping began. This also comes at a time when heavy snow, blizzard conditions and -15°C daytime highs are the norm. This will be the first time the city has cracked the freezing mark since Thanksgiving back on Oct. 12.
"The all-time warmest December temperature in Yellowknife is 2.8°C, which we have the potential to beat as we are forecasting temperatures as high as [a few degrees above freezing] next week," says Weather Network meteorologist Matt Grinter. "The record for the warmest low temperatures also has the chance to be beaten."
This blast of "heat" comes as the jet stream takes a leap towards the North in Western Canada, bringing with it extreme warmth to the Northwest Territories.
The temperatures as indicated by this temperature anomaly map below, show the better part of a five-day period running anywhere from 8-14°C above seasonal.
You can also thank those southwest winds over the Pacific for the warmup.
Thumbnail image courtesy: Candace Meadus
