Forecaster predicts slow stroll into winter weather this year
Canadians can expect to enjoy a full fall season with a steady transition to winter over the next two months, The Weather Network forecasts.
The network is predicting that winter will not come early this year and Canadians will get to experience an overall mild fall from now until the end of November.
While it’s been a hot September in Quebec and Ontario, The Weather Network’s chief meteorologist, Chris Scott, says more typical fall weather is expected over the next few weeks. Temperatures will still be warmer than average.
He also said there will be fewer storms than normal and fewer rainy days, and that seeing the leaves change will be delayed.
“Fall is one of those transition seasons where it is a wild rollercoaster ride. We are going to see some weeks where it’s warm and some weeks that are cold, but this year it’s not quite the steepness of the drops and rises we sometimes see this time of the year.”
He said Canadians can expect near normal or above normal temperatures for most of the country. And even though some parts of Canada, such as Alberta and B.C., have already had snow, Canadians “won’t see the sudden drop into winter as we normally do.”
“We’re not going to lock into a winter pattern right in November it looks like, so that means we’ve got a couple months to go here where folks that like fall foliage — they ’re going to get their chance to enjoy the fall colours. There’s going to be a pretty good amount of time to go hiking and do activities outdoors and for farmers with harvesting,” he said.
Scott broke down the fall forecast for other regions:
BRITISH COLUMBIA
Although there has been a cooler start to the season in B.C., warmer than normal temperatures are forecast for mid and late fall. Scott said precipitation will be near to slightly below normal, which could affect the amount of snowfall.
“There might be a slower start to the ski season than normal,” he said. “It doesn’t mean we won’t get a good ski season, it just means we probably won’t load up on the snow as much as we sometimes do in November.”
ALBERTA, SASKATCHEWAN
“Over the last 10 days it seems like we’ve plummeted into an early winter — that won’t last. We’re going to snap out of it and get some milder weather, especially through October,” Scott said.
Also forecast are drier than normal conditions across southern Alberta, with near to slightly below normal precipitation anticipated elsewhere in the Prairies.
“For November, while it can hold some snowy surprises, we don’t think we’re dropping into the minus-20s that we sometimes do in the second and third week of November,” he said.
ATLANTIC CANADA
“That trend of milder than normal will continue here in the fall,” said Scott.
Scott said there may be extended periods of dry weather, but the region can still expect near normal precipitation “in bunches.”
“This is because we might get a tropical system like what we’re watching with Hurricane Florence and the remnants of those systems that come through,” said Scott.
NORTHERN CANADA
While warmer than normal temperatures are forecast across Yukon and the Northwest Territories, Scott said colder than normal temperatures are expected across Nunavut. “But we still don’t expect an early start to winter,” Scott of Nunavut.
He said above-normal precipitation is expected for southern Yukon and the Northwest Territories.