Jammed jet stream allows Norway to hit 20C before Toronto
A typhoon from the Pacific and an atmospheric logjam over Europe teamed up to keep Central Canada frosty deep into the month of April.
Some towns in eastern Norway saw temperatures crack the 20-degree mark this week, notching a level of warmth Toronto hasn’t enjoyed so far this year.
Multiple towns in southeastern Norway exceeded 20°C on Wednesday afternoon. Gulsvik recorded a high of 20.8°C, according to data from the Norwegian Meteorological Institute. Nearby Tønsberg hit an even 20°C on Wednesday afternoon.
Those highs are both above seasonal for this time of year. Temperatures this week were 5-10+ degrees above normal across southeastern Norway. Gulsvik and Tønsberg, which are each about 80 km outside of Oslo, reside around the same latitude as Fort Smith, N.W.T.
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AN ATMOSPHERIC LOGJAM TO SPAN THE ENTIRE HEMISPHERE
April is a notoriously fickle month for weather across Canada. Folks are itching for springtime weather to jump north of the border, but persistent troughs just won’t let winter break its grip on the country.
The pattern that’s kept much of Canada below-seasonal in recent weeks stretches far beyond our borders, an influence that stretches thousands of kilometres beyond our eastern and western coasts.
The remnants of a typhoon that rolled through the western Pacific Ocean last week finally reached Canada this week, amplifying the trough that ultimately allowed snow to fly across parts of Ontario and Quebec a couple of days ago.
An upper-level blocking pattern over western Europe helped reinforce this spell of below-seasonal weather.
A rex block—an upper-level low caught beneath an upper-level ridge—set up over western Europe this week, essentially jamming the upper-level pattern and forcing the jet stream to grow wavier over Canada. This pattern reinforced the streak of below-seasonal temperatures across Central Canada, while also allowing unseasonable warmth to spread deep into Norway.
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Folks in southern Ontario pining for spring-like weather won’t have to wait very long for things to shift, even for just a couple of days.
A warm front is expected to lift over the region this weekend, allowing temperatures to soar above 20°C for most communities. Toronto, however, could remain under the influence of the lake’s chilly breeze, keeping highs below 20°C through at least the beginning of May.
Correction: This article originally misstated the seasonal high temperatures for Gulsvik and Tønsberg, and the text has been updated to reflect the accurate data.
