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Christmas in and around Winnipeg will be colder than the North Pole

Hot tea, meet frigid Arctic air. Michael H Davies

If your kids want to secure their spot on the Nice List, they might want to leave out some long johns instead of cookies this Christmas. Santa may well want to wear extra layers as he delivers presents Dec. 24.

Temperatures are going to be noticeably colder in Winnipeg and across southern Manitoba starting Dec. 24 and staying that way until 2018.

As cold, arctic air descends over the Canadian prairies, it will push temperatures down well below normal. As this happens, some warmer air will make its way up into the arctic circle. It will actually be colder here than at the North Pole.

RELATED: Winnipeg bracing for one of the coldest Christmases on record

Christmas Day in Winnipeg could easily start with extreme cold warnings in effect.

Wind chill values will be very close to -40 with temperatures near -30 degrees Celsius and only warming up to -25 C.

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Meanwhile in the North Pole, a Norwegian forecast site expects Dec. 25 temperatures to get up to -23 C. Boxing Day in the North Pole will be even warmer, expected to get to -17 C.

For Winnipeg, starting Dec. 24 and essentially carrying on into 2018, long range models predict temperatures will stay below -20 C during the day and dropping into the low, even mid -30s overnight on a regular basis.

During this stretch, Winnipeg will be experiencing temperatures colder than not only the North Pole, but Fairbanks Alaska, and at times, similar temperatures to Iqaluit Nunavut.

Winnipeg’s 7 day forecast leading up to Christmas and towards the New Year. Global News

On the bright side, days start to get longer from here on in.  Dec. 21, the first official day of winter, is the shortest day of the year.

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