Sunscreen instead of ski pants? What El Niño could mean for the upcoming Prairie winter
CBC
El Niño is making its return after a nearly eight-year hiatus, and forecasters say it could impact winter weather on the Prairies.
The climate pattern happens when the temperature of Pacific Ocean waters along the equator off the coast of Peru rises above normal.
The air above that water then warms and moves northward.
In Western Canada, this intrusion of warmer air can change the overall pattern of the polar jet stream — a narrow band of fast-moving air that separates colder weather to the north from milder weather to the south.
"El Niño conditions, in general, will give [the Prairies] warmer than average winters and drier than average winters," said Terri Lang, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada.
"Those moisture-bearing low pressure systems that travel along the jet will also be ... further north."
But snowstorms and frigid temperatures are still possible, even in an El Niño winter, said Lang.
El Niño is the opposite of La Niña, where Pacific Ocean waters in the same region are cooler than normal. This typically brings more moisture and colder than average temperatures to the Prairies.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the U.S. says the last three years have seen La Niña winters.
The last El Niño, during the 2015-16 winter, was dubbed one of the stronger systems since data collection began around 1900.
That winter, Pacific Ocean temperatures rose more than 2 C above average in the region of the Pacific called Niño 3.4 — the area most watched to determine El Niño's strength.
That event left the Prairies up to 4 C warmer than normal from December through February. It also left an extreme moisture deficit.
Some climate agencies are predicting another strong El Niño this time around, with NOAA forecasting a 55 per cent chance of such an event.
David DeWitt, director of NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, said Niño 3.4 temperatures are around 1.9 C above average and are expected to intensify through December.
The New Brunswick government has a strategy for reducing chronic homelessness in the province by 40 per cent over the next three years, Housing Minister David Hickey said Thursday.
Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé is stepping down.
A Winnipeg mother whose kids attend Winnipeg School Division schools says officials waited too long to let parents know classes would be cancelled on Thursday amid a winter blizzard that created dangerous road conditions across the city.
After one day of calm, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) says a second Alberta clipper storm will begin to hit western Saskatchewan early Friday morning.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's government is increasing how much it costs to apply for a citizen-initiated referendum by 5,000 per cent, saying it's about making sure applicants are serious.
A special unit established to solve cold cases of missing and murdered Indigenous people has solved the murder of a B.C. man in Washington State nearly a decade ago.
A judge ruled Thursday to remove an injunction in place since the summer against Alberta's law prohibiting doctors from providing gender-affirming care to youth.
A pedestrian is dead and another is in life-threatening condition after two vehicles collided in Richmond Hill on Thursday, striking three people, police say.
A Pelly Crossing, Yukon, resident said he's frustrated over the fact he's still waiting to get paid for work he did during last month's territorial election.
A few days after Michael Ma decided to cross the floor to the Liberals, Pierre Poilievre was asked whether the loss of another MP was a problem for his leadership of the Conservative Party.
Ontario released a new curriculum for kindergarten in the province on Thursday, but the shift away from “play-based” learning towards “academic rigor” is sparking concern from teachers and opposition.
Ekati Diamond Mine is getting a a $115 million loan from the Canadian government to continue operations at the mine and protect jobs, its owner announced Thursday.
Prime Minister Mark Carney reaffirmed he'll protect Canada's supply management system, as the United States signalled it's ready to fight over this country's dairy rules at the negotiating table.