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Northern Canada has been gripped by a bitter and extended period of frigid weather, with readings persisting in the minus 20 to minus 40 Celsius range for weeks. This week, the Yukon community of Braeburn saw the mercury drop to -55.7C, marking its chilliest December reading since 1975.

Prolonged Freeze of Extreme Cold

In addition, the locales of Mayo and Dawson suffered through over two straight weeks of nights below -40C, with Mayo plunging to -50.4C at the start of the week. Whitehorse also recorded ten separate nights when temperatures dropped below -30C.

The deep freeze spread farther south through Christmas week. Christmas night saw Edmonton's temperatures plummet below minus 28C.

Boxing Day was expected to bring lows of at least -20C across many regions, from Edmonton in the west to Quebec in the east.

Forecast to Persist Through Early January

This harsh winter weather is expected to continue through the start of January. There are warnings of possible electrical grid strain in Yukon territory soon, as the territory’s power grid comes under strain from historically high electricity consumption.

This extended freeze is the result of the Arctic vortex settling over Canada for much of December, enabling a surge of icy Arctic winds to descend. Next week, the cold air mass is expected to retreat north slowly, permitting warmer Pacific winds to flow over the US and into parts of southern Canada.

Stark Contrast to American Heat

Meanwhile, in a dramatic contrast, areas of the United States saw their warmest Christmas Day on record as readings skyrocketed 15 to 30 degrees Celsius above normal. Across wide regions, the atmosphere was more akin to late spring instead of the heart of winter.

Multiple states established new Christmas temperature highs. In Oklahoma, Oklahoma City hit 25C on Tuesday, topping the prior high mark of 22 degrees established over forty years ago. Urban centers like Austin, Dallas, and Charlotte, North Carolina were also among those that recorded temperatures above 25C.

High-Pressure System Fuels Warmth

Warmer-than-normal conditions are forecast to last through Boxing Day and the days ahead, with atypical high temperatures expected to spread across the southeastern US in the coming days.

The warmth has been fuelled by a strong upper-level ridge extending from the desert south-west towards the north and east, creating a heat-dome effect. This setup creates an extensive zone of high atmospheric pressure blanketing a significant part of the landmass, trapping warm air near the surface. As air sinks through the atmosphere, it compresses and heats further, enabling abnormally high temperatures to develop.