The weather in the capital region has been unseasonably warm in November, breaking several temperature records.
The weather in the capital region has been unseasonably warm in November, breaking several temperature records.
After a cool October, November kicked off with unusually warm temperatures that thawed the frost and early snowfall that fell over the region.
“It seems like October and November have switched,” Terri Lang, Meteorologist with Environment Canada and Climate change.
In the last week several temperature records were broken in the region.
On Wednesday a new record was set at 15 C, trumping the record set in 1981 at 12.5 C.
On Thursday Nov. 3 another temperature record was set with a high of 19.4 overwhelming the record of 18.3 C, set in 1975. On Friday Nov. 4, the high registered at 20 C, knocking out the previous 16.4 C set in 1980.
Overall the region has set a record for the all-time November high of 20.0 C, up from 18.8 C.
What is most impressive about the high temperatures is that the wave of warmth has lasted for so long.
“When we start seeing old records falling like that, we know it's significant,” Lang said. “Certainly some unusual weather and the length that it is going on, days and days of this really warm weather.”
This heat is not restricted to the region. Across all of western Canada temperatures are higher than they have been on record. British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba have all been shattering previous temperatures records, some of which are more than 100 years old.
On Wednesday Medicine Hat shattered an old record set in 1887 for that day. The city registered 19.9 C, defeating the previous high of 18.9 C.
This warm weather can be attributed to what is known as the Pineapple Express. This is a meteorological phenomenon that brings heat and moisture from the Pacific Ocean and Hawaiian Islands to the west coast of British Columbia. Temperatures in the Lower Mainland raise and precipitation increases, but as the system moves across the Rockies it dries out, bringing just the heat to the prairies.
This phenomenon never lasts very long. Starting this weekend temperatures will begin to lower to seasonal averages.
November typically has temperatures with highs around 0 C and lows of -10 C.
“Don't sell the snow blower or chuck away the snow shovel yet,” Lang said. “We know that winter is coming, we know that it is going to get cold and we know it's going to snow. This pattern isn't going to stay so people should just get out and enjoy it.”
Looking forward, meteorologists cannot predict with much certainty what the temperatures in late November will be. However, the forecast for this weekend shows temperatures will start dropping.
Saturday is expected to reach a high of 12 C with a low of 1 C, while the forecast for Sunday is a high of 11 C and a low of 2 C.
Temperatures will dip down to seasonal norms near the end of next week with a high of 1 C and a low of -4 C.
