Prolonged Chill Grips Canada as America Sees Warmest Christmas Ever.
Northern Canada has been gripped by an intense and prolonged cold spell, with readings persisting from 20 to 40 degrees below zero for multiple weeks. On Tuesday, Braeburn in the Yukon recorded -55.7C, representing its most frigid December day in nearly five decades.
Prolonged Freeze of Extreme Cold
In addition, the locales of Mayo and Dawson suffered through 16 consecutive nights below -40C, with Mayo plunging to -50.4C at the start of the week. The capital, Whitehorse, likewise saw a series of ten nights when temperatures dropped below -30C.
The deep freeze spread farther south through Christmas week. In Edmonton, the Christmas overnight low dipped under -28 degrees Celsius.
Boxing Day was expected to bring minimum temperatures of at least minus 20C across many regions, encompassing cities from Edmonton to Quebec.
Forecast to Persist into the New Year
The frigid conditions are predicted to linger into the new year. Officials have warned that the Yukon could face electricity outages over the next several days, as the territory’s power grid comes under strain from record-high energy demand.
The prolonged chill has been caused by a stationary polar vortex above Canadian territory through December, allowing bitter Arctic air to spill south. Next week, the cold air mass is expected to retreat north gradually, enabling milder Pacific air to move across the US and into parts of southern Canada.
Stark Contrast Compared to Stateside Temperatures
Conversely, sections of America recorded historically high temperatures for Christmas as readings skyrocketed 15 to 30 degrees Celsius above normal. In many areas, conditions felt more typical of April or May instead of the heart of winter.
Several states set Christmas Day temperature records. In Oklahoma, Oklahoma City hit 25C on Tuesday, exceeding the old record of 22C from 1982. Cities including Austin and Dallas, in Texas, and Charlotte, North Carolina similarly saw thermometers rise past the 25C mark.
High-Pressure System Drives the Heat
Warmer-than-normal conditions are forecast to last for the remainder of the week and beyond, with unseasonable heat forecast to sweep across the southeastern US in the coming days.
This heat is being driven by a strong upper-level ridge extending from the desert south-west towards the north and east, establishing a classic heat-dome pattern. This setup creates an extensive zone of high atmospheric pressure blanketing a significant part of the landmass, effectively capping warm air at lower altitudes. Sinking atmospheric air undergoes compression and additional heating, enabling abnormally high temperatures to develop.
