Experts predict a ‘two-faced’ winter

Despite warm, balmy temperatures for most of fall, winter’s wrath may soon be upon us, experts say. But the freezing temperatures are not expected to last.

According to a report from The Weather Network, Canadians should prepare for colder than normal temperatures across most of the country in December.

However, after a cold finale through 2022, temperatures are expected to fluctuate.

“We expect that once in January and February, winter will take a few breaks with periods of mild weather, especially from southern Ontario to Newfoundland and Labrador,” writes meteorologist Doug Gillham in the report by The Weather Network.

For the third year in a row, winter weather in Canada is expected to be primarily influenced by the large-scale weather pattern known as La Nina, correlated with colder than normal surface water temperatures in central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean.

But La Nina isn’t the only weather phenomenon predicted to fuel Old Man Winter’s rage. Add to the mix a piece of the polar vortex, which the Weather Network projects to be located over northern Canada, blowing substantial levels of arctic air south during the reportedly cool month of December.

As we head into January and February, La Nina is expected to bring the cold, active weather of winter to all of Western Canada, while channeling milder, stormier conditions from the Great Lakes into Atlantic Canada.

However, The Weather Network notes that winter weather in the west can sometimes move eastward, in an area stretching from the eastern Prairies to Quebec, resulting in milder weather in British Columbia and Alberta. .

As a result, The Weather Network says Canadians will face a “two-faced winter” – one that “will feature long stretches of harsh winter conditions and long stretches of milder weather that may leave you wondering, ‘what did it happen in the winter? ? » »