SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Environment Canada has confirmed Yellowknife experienced one of its hottest springs in recent history: 5.6 C hotter than normal.

"The North is certainly leading the nation in terms of temperature departures from normal in the last little while," said Yvonne Bilan-Wallace, a meteorologist with Environment Canada.

Yellowknife also had a warmer winter this year, about 4.5 C higher than normal.

Bilan-Wallace said the reason for this is a weather system called the Arctic vortex that sits in the Eastern Arctic has not been as strong or as well formed as it has in the past.

Normally, when this weather system is strong, it will circulate the cold Arctic air from the north counter-clockwise through Yellowknife and as far as Winnipeg. But when this system breaks down, the warmer air flowing from west to the east is not blocked by the system. It instead passes through Yellowknife.

In terms of this spring, Canada as a whole was 4.1 C above normal. For the Yellowknife region there was a greater increase in temperature from normal for the months of March, April and May in 1998 at 6.1 C.

This spring's 5.6 C jump is still "pretty significant," according to Bilan-Wallace.

Local businesses have a mixed opinion of the significance of the warmer seasons. Kaven Paradis, owner of Twist, said because of the warmer weather in June, especially in the evenings, business on the lounge's patio was better than it was last year. But he also said that business in July tailed off because of the combination of rainy weekends and people travelling and camping more on weekends. Overall, he said he's happy with the business the lounge has attracted so far this summer, but compared to last year, he said business is "pretty much the same."

Charles Wyman, terminal manager with Northwest Transport, is not concerned with how the warmer temperature trends could affect the quality or thickness of ice roads in the North this winter.

"We didn't have any trouble last year, and I don't anticipate any trouble this year," he said. "The difference between -40 C and -34 C, there's probably not going to be a difference (in the roads)."

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