Prolonged Chill Grips Canada as United States Experiences Warmest Christmas in History.

An intense cold spell has seized an intense and prolonged cold spell, with temperatures hovering in the minus 20 to minus 40 Celsius range for multiple weeks. This week, the Yukon community of Braeburn saw the mercury drop to -55.7C, marking its chilliest December reading in half a century.

Prolonged Freeze Below -40C

In addition, the locales of Mayo and Dawson suffered through sixteen nights in a row dipping under the minus 40 Celsius threshold, with Mayo plunging to -50.4C on Monday. Whitehorse also recorded ten separate nights when the cold dipped under -30 Celsius.

This Arctic air mass pushed further southward during the holiday season. 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 severe cold is forecast to persist into the new year. Authorities have cautioned about potential power failures in the Yukon over the next several days, as the territory’s power grid comes under strain 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 gradually, enabling milder Pacific air to move across the United States and penetrate southern Canadian regions.

Dramatic Difference to American Heat

Meanwhile, in a dramatic contrast, areas of the United States saw historically high temperatures for Christmas as temperatures soared about 15-30C above the seasonal average. Across wide regions, the atmosphere was more akin to late spring than late December.

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. Metropolitan areas such as Austin, Dallas, and Charlotte similarly saw thermometers rise past the 25C mark.

Atmospheric Ridge Fuels Warmth

Above-average warmth is expected to continue through Boxing Day and the days ahead, with abnormal warmth projected to move across the southeastern US in the coming days.

This heat is being driven by a robust atmospheric ridge reaching from the arid southwest across the continent, 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, fostering the buildup of exceptional warmth.