Tired of the cold? A warming trend is on the way for Saskatchewan

SASKATOON – If the winter blues have you down, hope of a brief warm-up mid-month in Saskatchewan and a sizzling summer may be enough to carry you through at least another week of the frosty air.

Below normal winter temperatures have become the norm this season, with temperatures seemingly stuck at least a dozen degrees below seasonal/average more often than not.

This time, we’re not alone. We can even complain with our neighbours across the border, even as far south as Mexico, about the cold, below normal conditions. The entire country has been engulfed in cold air almost all week.

The culprit? A release of polar air that normally sits over the north pole known as the polar vortex, which sits in the upper atmosphere, split into a few pieces and spread it’s icy fingers across the entire continent.

At the surface, a steady stream of arctic high pressure systems have been swinging in from the Yukon, keeping Saskatoon in the core of the cold and even knocking frigid air down to the west coast of Canada – where some of the country’s warmest temperatures are usually recorded in winter.

Thursday night into Friday morning every single place where temperatures are recorded in Canada were below freezing with nearly 100 record breaking low temperatures Thursday across the country.

For Saskatoon, weather models are indicating a brief reprieve is on the way mid-February, where the mercury may climb back into minus single digits for the first time in over half a month.

When the warmth hits, afternoon temperatures may even break through our normal high of minus 7, for a few days.

And if that isn’t enough to knock you out of the winter blues, there is even more hope on the horizon to look forward to.

Right now, long-range seasonal forecast models are suggesting above seasonal summer temperatures may be in the mix for Saskatonians to enjoy after what has ended up being a frigidly cold winter.