Northern Canada has been gripped by an intense and prolonged cold spell, with temperatures hovering in the minus 20 to minus 40 Celsius range for an extended duration. A reading of -55.7 Celsius was logged in Braeburn, Yukon, on Tuesday, its coldest December temperature since 1975.
Meanwhile, Mayo and Dawson endured 16 consecutive nights colder than minus 40 degrees, with Mayo experiencing a low of -50.4C earlier this week. The capital, Whitehorse, likewise saw ten separate nights when the cold dipped under -30 Celsius.
This Arctic air mass pushed further southward over the festive period. Christmas night saw Edmonton's temperatures plummet below minus 28C.
The day after Christmas was forecast to deliver lows of at least -20C in numerous areas, including Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa and Quebec.
This harsh winter weather is expected to continue through the start of January. Authorities have cautioned about potential power failures in the Yukon soon, as the territory’s power grid comes under strain from record-high energy demand.
The lengthy cold snap originates from a stationary polar vortex over Canada for much of December, enabling a surge of icy Arctic winds to descend. Next week, the cold air mass is expected to retreat north slowly, permitting warmer Pacific winds to flow over the United States and penetrate southern Canadian regions.
Meanwhile, in a dramatic contrast, areas of the United States saw historically high temperatures for Christmas as temperatures soared about 15-30C above the seasonal average. Across wide regions, the atmosphere was more akin to late spring 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. Urban centers like Austin, Dallas, and Charlotte, North Carolina were also among those that recorded temperatures above 25C.
Warmer-than-normal conditions are forecast to last on December 26th and into the weekend, with abnormal warmth projected to move across the southeastern US in the coming days.
This heat is being driven by a robust atmospheric ridge stretching from the southwestern deserts northward and eastward, creating a heat-dome effect. Such a configuration results in a widespread high-pressure system over a large portion of North America, effectively capping warm air at lower altitudes. Descending air compresses and adiabatically warms, enabling abnormally high temperatures to develop.
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