Winter arrives a week early
Yellowknifers got their first taste of -40 C, but the season shouldn't last as long as it did last year, says Environment Canada climatologist
Laura Busch
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, December 18, 2013
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
What does it mean when temperatures dip below -40 C on Friday, Dec. 13 - a full week before the winter solstice?
The cold facts
2012/13 winter:
- 1.3 degrees below normal
- Days below -30 C : 61
- Coldest moment: -42 C on Jan. 31
2011/12 winter:
- 5.6 degrees above normal
- Days below -30: 21
Source: Environment Canada
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The winter of 2012/13 was a cold one, but in comparison, the first day at -40 C air temperature was Jan. 14.
When asked what the early cold snap means for the upcoming season, Environment Canada senior climatologist David Phillips said, "the fact that it started cold doesn't mean it's going to end that way. It doesn't mean that is the character of what the winter is going to be."
That said, Phillips went on to say this winter should be comparable to last year's in terms of temperature. Last winter, from November to March, saw an average temperature of 1.3 degrees below normal. So far, the environmental models for the coming winter shows the Mackenzie Valley region - which encompasses the majority of the NWT - at normal temperatures.
However, Phillips offered a ray of hope.
"My sense is that it won't be as long of a cold winter as we saw last year," he said. "The most brutal thing for people to deal with last year, I think, was that you had one of the coldest springs on record."
The seasonal normal, which is projected for this coming spring, is for temperatures to average -16 C in March, -5 C in April and 5 C in May. Last winter, those averages were -18.4 C, -5 C and -6.6 C, respectively.
Two winters ago, Yellowknifers experienced one of the warmest winters on record, with temperatures averaging 5.6 degrees above normal. In 2011/12, there were just 21 days below -30 C, compared with 61 of those days last year.
Another seasonably cold winter on tap for this year does not mean the North will stop feeling the effects of climate change, said Phillips.
"I wouldn't declare global warming a lot of hot air. I think it's clear that the trend has changed," he said.
The Mackenzie region is the most impacted by global warming.
Over the past 66 years, the Mackenzie has warmed an average of 4.7 degrees in the winter and 1.7 degrees in the summer.
"That's the difference between the last ice age 12,000 years ago and now," said Phillips. "There is no question about it, the one area of Canada that has warmed up the most is the Mackenzie ... and the trend is clearly for milder winters."
But with every trend comes some flip-flopping and, so far, all indicators point to a true Northern winter in store for Yellowknifers.
