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Northern Canada has been gripped by a severe and lengthy Arctic outbreak, with temperatures hovering in the minus 20 to minus 40 Celsius range for an extended duration. This week, the Yukon community of Braeburn saw the mercury drop to -55.7C, its coldest December temperature in half a century.

Prolonged Freeze Below -40C

In addition, the locales of Mayo and Dawson suffered through 16 consecutive nights dipping under the minus 40 Celsius threshold, with the temperature in Mayo bottoming out at -50.4 degrees Celsius earlier this week. Whitehorse similarly reported 10 nights when the cold dipped under -30 Celsius.

The bitter chill extended its reach south over the festive period. Christmas night saw Edmonton's temperatures plummet below minus 28C.

Boxing Day was expected to bring minimum temperatures of at least minus 20C across many regions, encompassing cities from Edmonton to Quebec.

Likely to Linger For Days to Come

The frigid conditions are predicted to linger into the new year. Officials have warned that the Yukon could face electricity outages soon, as the territory’s power grid comes under strain from historically high electricity consumption.

The prolonged chill has been caused by a stationary polar vortex above Canadian territory through December, allowing bitter Arctic air to spill south. Next week, the cold air mass is expected to retreat north gradually, enabling milder Pacific air to move across the United States and penetrate southern Canadian regions.

Stark Contrast Compared to Stateside Temperatures

Conversely, sections of America recorded their warmest Christmas Day on record as the mercury climbed roughly 15 to 30 degrees above typical averages. For numerous locations, the weather resembled a spring day in April or May rather than the end of December.

Multiple states established new Christmas temperature highs. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, reached 25 degrees Celsius on Christmas, 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.

Atmospheric Ridge Drives the Heat

Unseasonable heat is predicted to persist on December 26th and into the weekend, with atypical high temperatures expected to spread through the American Southeast soon.

This heat is being driven by a robust atmospheric ridge extending from the desert south-west towards the north and east, which generates a heat-dome phenomenon. Such a configuration results in a widespread high-pressure system blanketing a significant part of the landmass, which holds warm air close to the ground. Descending air compresses and adiabatically warms, enabling abnormally high temperatures to develop.