Brace for chill: Arctic air oozing into Canada for next week
Although much of Canada has enjoyed a mild break this month, chances of an Arctic air outbreak are mounting next week for the country
While this week saw much of the country take a pleasant hiatus from fall weather, signals are coming together for a significant pattern shakeup by next week.
In fact, some change is already taking shape across the Prairies with cooler temperatures and impending snow, while Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada next in line to see a turnaround in the weather over the coming days.
MUST SEE: Why Canada can thank B.C. for the warmth this week
Those changes will be the first of two rounds, with the second arriving on Monday with some considerable Arctic air.
First change is mild compared to next week's shakeup
Cold air from the north will follow a cold front moving across the Prairies this week, eventually reaching Eastern Canada. Below-normal air will send daytime highs down into the single digits this weekend in southern Ontario, Quebec and eventually Atlantic Canada on Monday, ending the mild weather streak.
The Prairies will experience a brief cooldown in the short range, then a warmer weekend ahead –– but this won't be sticking around for long.
While this first round sends millions back to reality, the second appears more significant.
An end-of-November pattern shakeup will open the door for Siberian air to be initially redirected into Western Canada. The Prairies will be the first to see wind chills return, plummeting into the minus teens by mid-week.
It will then shift eastwards across the country as the week progresses, reaching Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada –– settling in quite a chill and also firing up lake-effect precipitation chances.
Areas in the Great Lakes region still waiting for hefty snowfall event may not be for much longer. Significant lake-effect may be in the cards for typical snowbelt areas, given how cold this air mass is as it runs over the warmer Great Lake waters.
The temperature collision would also set up an active weather pattern for a possible Colorado low at the end of next week, though we are too far out to know any specifics at this time.
Warmth will return at the end of the month and early December
The temperature swings will continue during the final week of November, allowing for warmer air to return to the West initially.
A pattern flip will see above-seasonal temperatures dominate across B.C. and then start to spread east across the Prairies at the end of November, eventually making it into Central Canada for the beginning of December.
However, there's a chance the milder air may not reach Ontario and Quebec for a few days into the month.
With files from Rachel Modestino and Tyler Hamilton, meteorologists at The Weather Network, and Nathan Howes, a digital journalist at The Weather Network.