INUVIK
While Canadians in Alberta and British Columbia have been complaining about cold temperatures, residents of the far North have been treated to a balmy start to the new year.

Incandescent dancers practise in the warmer-than-usual weather Saturday, Jan. 7. Inuvik residents were treated to a balmy end of their holiday and new year celebrations as temperatures edged up to zero. David Phillips, senior climatologist with Environment Canada, said that was caused by chinook winds. - Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo

"You've been hoarding all of the warm air, come on!" said David Phillips, senior climatologist with Environment Canada.

Temperatures in Inuvik edged near zero degrees around New Year's Day, falling slightly during the next two weeks but still well above the usual average of -26 for this time of year.

That heat wave was thanks to chinook winds. Those winds travelled over nearby mountains in the Mackenzie and dried out while doing so. Then, the winds would descend down the mountain, compress and heat up, elevating temperatures in nearby communities.

"It's sort of like the idea of pumping a bicycle pump," said Phillips.

As the air molecules are pressed together on the descent from the mountain, they warm up.

"It's very local," said Phillips, noting it happens often around Calgary from winds off the Rocky Mountains. "You can't sustain it. It's going to be here today, gone tomorrow."

The whole winter has been warmer than usual, and so was 2016.

Only about seven or eight days this winter have hit -30, whereas Inuvik would normally have seen more than 20 by now. November particularly was warmer than usual.

Snowfall around Inuvik is also down, at about 50-60 per cent of its usual levels.

Though people might enjoy a few days they don't need their parkas, there could be some issues from the heat, said Phillips.

"Certainly, building ice roads has been a challenge, as it has been in many recent years," he said.

Originally, Environment Canada was predicting a colder winter this year, but its models have changed in the new year.

"All of our models were suggesting that in the west - Northwest Territories, British Columbia and Alberta - we were showing colder than normal," said Phillips. "That's changed in the last couple of days."

Now the organization is predicting a mild winter until April.

"The arrival of spring will be maybe a little earlier," said Phillips.