An intense cold spell has seized a severe and lengthy Arctic outbreak, with temperatures hovering in the minus 20 to minus 40 Celsius range for multiple weeks. On Tuesday, Braeburn in the Yukon recorded -55.7C, representing its most frigid December day since 1975.
Similarly, the communities of Mayo and Dawson experienced sixteen nights in a row dipping under the minus 40 Celsius threshold, with the temperature in Mayo bottoming out at -50.4 degrees Celsius on Monday. Whitehorse also recorded ten separate nights when temperatures dropped below -30C.
This Arctic air mass pushed further southward through Christmas week. In Edmonton, the Christmas overnight low dipped under -28 degrees Celsius.
Boxing Day was expected to bring minimum temperatures of at least minus 20C in numerous areas, from Edmonton in the west to Quebec in the east.
This harsh winter weather is expected to continue through the start of January. Officials have warned that the Yukon could face electricity outages in the coming days, as the system endures record-high pressure from peak power usage levels.
The lengthy cold snap originates from a stationary polar vortex over Canada for much of December, enabling a surge of icy Arctic winds to descend. The frigid dome is projected to gradually withdraw north allowing more temperate air from the Pacific to sweep across the United States and penetrate southern Canadian regions.
Meanwhile, in a dramatic contrast, areas of the United States saw the hottest December 25th in their history as the mercury climbed roughly 15 to 30 degrees above typical averages. Across wide regions, the atmosphere was more akin to late spring instead of the heart of winter.
Several states set Christmas Day temperature records. In Oklahoma, Oklahoma City hit 25C on Tuesday, exceeding the old record of 22C from 1982. Cities including Austin and Dallas, in Texas, and Charlotte, North Carolina also logged readings above 25 degrees Celsius.
Above-average warmth is expected to continue on December 26th and into the weekend, with unseasonable heat forecast to sweep into the south-eastern states later in the week.
The unseasonable temperatures are powered by a powerful high-altitude ridge extending from the desert south-west towards the north and east, establishing a classic heat-dome pattern. This setup creates an extensive zone of high atmospheric pressure over a large portion of North America, which holds warm air close to the ground. As air sinks through the atmosphere, it compresses and heats further, fostering the buildup of exceptional warmth.
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