Change is coming: Canada's road to winter encounters looming shakeup
Arctic air will be on a southward move next week to bring Canada a major pattern changeup, a healthy reminder that winter is just around the corner
Like it or not, Canada, winter is coming.
To make the transition smoother, we've already seen bouts of wintry weather in parts of Canada recently.
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Another preview of the upcoming season will be felt again as a national pattern change will begin to unfold next week as cold Arctic air filters in gradually from west to east, eventually making its way into the East Coast.
Western Canada will see an abrupt transition to winter first. Initially, milder weather will spread east into Ontario and Quebec, but the cold weather is expected to spread east by the last week or weekend.
A widespread, cold pattern is expected to spread east for the beginning of December, expected to then dominate most of December.
The first half of November was chilly and active for Eastern Canada, stretching from the Great Lakes to the East Coast.
Western Canada, however, has been quite contrasting this month so far, with warmer or least more seasonal temperatures taking charge.
However, the entire country will be on the receiving end of colder weather next week.
The change will take place in Western Canada first, allowing the East to see a bit of warm-up before the cold hits there.
Western Canada is forecast to plummet into winter weather with Arctic air spilling down into B.C. and onto the Prairies. Signals are there for a significant storm with alpine snow early next week, with the cooldown to follow suit.
Meanwhile, a jaunt across the country will see Central Canada enjoy a brief, seasonal warm-up for Ontario and Quebec.
The tradeoff is that contrast could generate a few classic fall storms for the Great Lakes.
That particular pattern will not lock in, though, since we are expecting the Arctic air to traverse across Canada for the final few days of November.
A Canada-wide cold pattern is possible heading into December.
When a cold trough meets the warmer waters of the Atlantic ocean, that is the perfect recipe for strong storms or nor’easters for some locales.
As a result, a sizable portion of the U.S. may be affected during Thanksgiving with any potent storm that comes to fruition during that time, with considerable travelling impacts possible.
With files from Rachel Modestino and Dr.Doug Gillham, meteorologists at The Weather Network.