🔗 Share this article

Northern Canada has been gripped by a bitter and extended period of frigid weather, with temperatures hovering from 20 to 40 degrees below zero for weeks. A reading of -55.7 Celsius was logged in Braeburn, Yukon, on Tuesday, marking its chilliest December reading since 1975.

Consecutive Nights of Extreme Cold

In addition, the locales of Mayo and Dawson suffered through 16 consecutive nights colder than minus 40 degrees, with Mayo plunging to -50.4C earlier this week. Whitehorse similarly reported ten separate nights when the cold dipped under -30 Celsius.

This Arctic air mass pushed further southward through Christmas week. Christmas night saw Edmonton's temperatures plummet below minus 28C.

Boxing Day was expected to bring readings no higher than -20 Celsius across many regions, including Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa and Quebec.

Expected to Continue into the New Year

The severe cold is forecast to persist through the start of January. Officials have warned that the Yukon could face electricity outages in the coming days, as the system endures record-high pressure from peak power usage levels.

The prolonged chill has been caused by the Arctic vortex settling across the northern part of the continent this month, enabling a surge of icy Arctic winds to descend. The frigid dome is projected to gradually withdraw north slowly, permitting warmer Pacific winds to flow over the United States and penetrate southern Canadian regions.

Pronounced Disparity Compared to Stateside Temperatures

In stark contrast, parts of the US experienced their warmest Christmas Day on record as the mercury climbed roughly 15 to 30 degrees above typical averages. In many areas, conditions felt more typical of April or May instead of the heart of winter.

Multiple states established new Christmas temperature highs. 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 also logged readings above 25 degrees Celsius.

High-Pressure System Fuels Warmth

Warmer-than-normal conditions are forecast to last on December 26th and into the weekend, with unseasonable heat forecast to sweep across the southeastern US in the coming days.

The warmth has been fuelled by a strong upper-level ridge stretching from the southwestern deserts northward and eastward, establishing a classic heat-dome pattern. This setup creates an extensive zone of high atmospheric pressure across much of the continent, effectively capping warm air at lower altitudes. As air sinks through the atmosphere, it compresses and heats further, enabling abnormally high temperatures to develop.