Photo by Vince Fedoroff
IT’S CHILLY OUT – Ice fog made for a ghostly-looking SS Klondike, as seen Sunday.
Weather may turn colder as week progresses
Many Yukoners have found themselves digging out more mitts, hats and winter gear
Many Yukoners have found themselves digging out more mitts, hats and winter gear that had been set aside given the unseasonably warm temperatures that had dominated this winter.
Over the weekend, however, temperatures began dropping, with this morning’s temperature in Whitehorse listed at -27.1 C, or -31 with the wind chill.
Conditions could get colder – to -36 with wind chill. On its website, Environment Canada notes there’s a risk of frostbite.
Overnight, it’s expected to be -38 with the wind chill.
The sudden shift in temperature is due to a high pressure ridge building over the territory, Matt MacDonald, an Environment Canada meteorologist, told the Star this morning.
Clear skies mean that any warm air can escape – making it that much colder.
It’s expected temperatures will continue to get colder toward the end of the week.
Thursday’s, Friday’s and Saturday’s forecasts show anticipated daytime temperatures of -29, -27 and -29 respectively.
Meanwhile, it’s expected Thursday night will see -32, with Friday being -38 and Saturday reaching -31.
By Sunday, residents may start feeling a little warmer, with temperatures expected to rise to around -22.
“By the middle of next week, (it’s expected to be) closer to seasonal temperatures,” MacDonald said.
The average range for this time of year is anywhere from -14 to -22, he said.
Despite the colder weather, MacDonald said, temperatures are “not even close to breaking records.”
The 1960s and 1970s saw much colder temperatures for January that were in the -40s, he pointed out.
In 1975, he noted, there was one day when the mercury dropped to -47.
The Christmas-New Year’s period of 1981-82, longtime residents will remember, featured several straight weeks of -40 weather.
The current temperatures may feel cold because of the warm weather December brought.
It was about three or four degrees warmer than normal for many days throughout the month.
Snowfall-wise, after a significant dump of snow in November, December was very dry, though not the driest December on record,
That happened in 1983, when only three millimetres of precipitation fell, compared to just 3.2 millimetres last month.
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Comments (8)
Up 6 Down 4
My Opinion on Jan 9, 2019 at 9:24 pm
OK Patti. Wake up now. PUFF PUFF PASS.
Up 8 Down 14
Patti Eyre on Jan 9, 2019 at 1:03 pm
Thank you PM Trudeau for putting attention on the evils of climate change! Praise be to those who take it seriously and do something about it also!! A shout out also to Trudeau for keeping Environment Canada in the the budgets and not cut, cut, cut.
Up 21 Down 10
Mary Jane Bluntz on Jan 8, 2019 at 7:42 pm
This is clearly a Liberal plot to increase revenues for the Carbon tax. The colder it gets the more those generators will kick in consuming greater amounts of diesel that will produce carbon emissions by the tons.
A vote for the fibberals in 2019 is not just stupid but plenty mean! Oust Trudeau and the minions of chaos before Canada becomes a complete loss!
Up 7 Down 2
Dave on Jan 8, 2019 at 7:40 pm
I never thought I’d be looking back and remembering the cold in winter of 1982 as being almost 40 years ago! At the time I was upset because my parents wouldn’t let me go out to play due to the cold no matter how much I pleaded wth them. I don’t know exactly how cold it was, we weren’t in Whitehorse but I remember being told it was below -40.
Up 14 Down 3
Coincidence on Jan 8, 2019 at 10:45 am
@ Rural Resident - you spoke too soon! First day, first 3 to 6 hour power outage. Coincidence?
Up 16 Down 7
yukonchris on Jan 8, 2019 at 9:14 am
Good to see some real winter weather again. It's cold but beautiful!
Up 10 Down 2
Mike Gladish on Jan 8, 2019 at 8:00 am
Here are some weather facts based on Environment Canada Historical Weather for Whitehorse. December 1981 - fairly mild until Boxing Day. Then it turned cold and the last three days of December were in the -40's. January 1982 continued cold with 13 lows in the -40's. There were no days with a high in the -40's, but there were 12 with highs in the -30's. That was followed with a mild start to February, then a very cold Rendezvous with temperatures close to -40 and the coldest Rendezvous on record. Maybe it was -40 for several weeks somewhere in the Yukon but certainly not Whitehorse.
Up 33 Down 6
Rural Resident on Jan 7, 2019 at 3:54 pm
Nice return to colder temperatures.
Hope there are no electrical outages since many homes are now heated with electrical power.