Good news for those bracing for winter blues

SASKATOON – A warmer-than-average autumn has come to an end in Saskatchewan over the past few days as an arctic airmass has settled into the region.

The mercury fell from approaching positive double digits Nov. 6 and 7 to negative double digits Nov. 9.

A daytime high of minus 11 was recorded in Saskatoon both Nov. 9 and 10 with wind chill values as cold as minus 23.

Remembrance Day started off cold, particularly in the southwest corner of the province, with wind chills dipping into the minus 30’s.

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The main culprit for the winter blast is the remains of what once was Super Typhoon Nuri, which battered the coast of Japan Oct. 30 before crossing the North Pacific Ocean.

Upon making landfall in Alaska on Nov. 7, the post-tropical strong low pressure system started interacting with the jet stream, which separates the cold air to the north from the warm air in the south, causing it to take a more north-south flow over North America, as opposed to its more standard east-west flow.

The jet stream dipped south, bringing air that typically sits over the North Pole to as far south as the southern United States.

This setup is similar to the one that engulfed much of North America in cold temperatures earlier this year.

There is another long-range, large-scale atmospheric influence that has a higher-than normal chance of affecting the weather in Saskatchewan this winter: El Nino.

El Ninos typically push the jet stream further north to allow Saskatchewan to potentially tap into warmer air in the winter.

The exact placement of the jet stream will be a significant factor in Saskatoon winter temperatures. But regardless, we will still have our fair share of colder- and warmer-than-normal days.

Current long-range precipitation models are showing a fairly good chance of higher-than-normal snowfall this winter in Saskatoon.

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