This week will be back to work and school for most Canadians after the holidays, and the weather will be something to pay close attention to, especially with a noticeably strong contrast in temperature anomalies.
The pattern is going to shift, and simply put, if you were cold this past week, you’ll warm up, but if you were warm, things are getting colder.
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Much of the Prairies, Yukon, and Northwest Territories started the year out below normal and quite frigid, with the strongest cold anomalies sitting about 5-10°C below normal since January 1. On January 3, parts of the northern Yukon actually plummeted to nearly -50°C, bringing the coldest conditions for the entire country so far this season.
The rest of Canada has seen mostly above normal conditions to start out January, with some of the strongest temperature anomalies felt in northern Quebec, where temperatures have been about 20°C above normal.
That’s all about to change however, as colder than seasonal temperatures take hold from the Great Lakes to southern Quebec, bringing the coldest weather of the season so far into next week.
Temperatures warm on the Prairies, northern Canada
An above normal air mass is going to move from Alaska through Manitoba this week.
Alberta will see the start of the warm-up on Tuesday, followed by Saskatchewan on Wednesday, and then Manitoba on Thursday.
Calgary will range from -2°C to 4°C over the next seven days, bumping regular daytime highs about 7°C above normal.
Although temperatures will still remain at freezing or slightly below for Saskatchewan, they will still equate to being 10-12°C above normal, and certainly much ‘warmer’ than how this year started out. It will be a similar story for Manitoba, but temperatures will remain below freezing.
The largest temperature anomalies will be across the northern Prairies, through the Northwest Territories, and Yukon, where some locations could end up about 20°C above normal!
Coldest air of the season coming to Ontario, Quebec
The colder air that has moved into Ontario and southern Quebec will now remain in place for some time. While the temperature anomaly won’t be as large as western Canada, conditions will still be about 5-10°C below normal at times.
This will bring overnight temperatures of -20°C to -30°C for central and northern Ontario, and -15°C across the Golden Horseshoe. The coldest temperature anomaly will occur on Wednesday. This weekend will be back closer to seasonal, but then next week will also remain cold.
Next week will be the coldest of the season for the Great Lakes region, and while not ‘severely cold,’ temperatures will be well below seasonal for a few days, with additional lake-effect snow expected.
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Eastern Quebec and Atlantic Canada miss out on the cold for the most part. Above normal temperatures will be in place, but only by a couple of degrees for the Maritimes and Newfoundland.
Further north in Labrador and northern Quebec, the strongest temperature anomalies will be 15-20°C above normal, with many areas in Labrador sitting at or above freezing, which is pretty rare for this time of year.
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During the second half of January, the focus of the Arctic air is expected to shift back to western Canada, resulting in a more persistent cold pattern for the Prairies. Meanwhile, a much milder pattern is expected during the first half of February in Ontario and Quebec, and the milder weather could arrive for, or during the final week of January.