Is winter, as we know it, dead? Canadians adapt to a mild December

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Canadians across the country are experiencing one of the warmest Decembers on record, with heavy rains, flash flooding, green lawns and record daily highs taking the place of snowstorms and more typical freezing temperatures.

In southern Ontario, dense fog that had hung around for much of the holidays was washed away by rain as temperatures stayed well above freezing. Environment Canada said it was the third-warmest December on record in the province, according to readings at Pearson International Airport. Temperature spikes have been particularly notable in northern Ontario, including Thunder Bay, where a mark of 8.3 C on Dec. 24 beat a historical high that had stood since the 1920s.

Coast to coast, Canadians are talking about the unusual start to the winter season. Unseasonably warm weather broke temperature records in southern British Columbia, including century-old marks in the provincial capital. In northern Labrador, schools were closed before Christmas because of concerns over a rapid melt and flooding, at a time of year when roads would normally be covered in snow and ice.

In Quebec, heavy rains dumped a month’s worth of precipitation in less than 24 hours, closing ski hills and forcing evacuations while previous temperature records were smashed across most southern parts of the province. Across the prairies, people were stuck with a brown Christmas, with many cities getting just a few wispy centimetres of snow in all of December.

In Charlottetown, temperatures reached a balmy 5 C this week – noteworthy in a Maritime city where the average low is -10 C this time of the year. In New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, mild temperatures brought rain and freezing rain, a week after powerful winds left more than 100,000 people without electricity.

The unusual weather is being largely blamed on the El Nino phenomenon, a massive weather system that occurs every two to seven years when warm ocean water develops in the central part of the Pacific Ocean. This summer, El Nino helped set record highs across the globe and fuelled extreme weather conditions in many parts of the world, including heavy rains and flooding in South America and drought in Australia and parts of Asia.

The good news – depending on your perspective – is the warm spell is temporary. Temperatures are expected to begin to return to seasonal norms next week.

“Winter isn’t over yet. I’m still planning on going skiing,” said Gerald Chang, a meteorologist with Environment Canada in Toronto.

At Western Canada’s mountain ski resorts, soft, light snow has accumulated at the highest elevations, but the lower sections are littered with exposed hazards like rocks, stumps and roots. Some areas that are normally open this time of year are off-limits because of poor conditions and some resorts, hit with recent rain and warm temperatures, sport an icy base that is tricky to navigate.

In Alberta, unseasonably warm and dry weather has made it difficult to stamp out dozens of wildfires left over from a record-breaking fire season that saw more than 2.2 million hectares burned in the province. Sixty-four fires are still active in the province, which is more than four times the number of carry-over fires recorded last year.

“To have 64 fires still going is significant for us,” said Christie Tucker, a spokesperson with Alberta Wildfire. “One of the things every wildfire agency relies on is having that cool weather and snow to ultimately bring them to extinguishment.”

She said significant wind, warm temperatures and dried vegetation can reignite fires or spark new ones. “That is something we are watching very, very closely,” Ms. Tucker said. “We are on higher alert than we would be if we had received a significant amount of precipitation and cold temperatures.”

The recruitment of hundreds of firefighters is already under way for the start of the next fire season in March. The service is “acutely aware” of the need to be ready early this coming year, said Ms. Tucker.

In the nation’s capital, residents were closely watching ice on the Rideau Canal, which bills itself as the world’s largest outdoor ice rink. Last year, the skateway didn’t open for the first time in 53 years. On Thursday, it was 4 C in Ottawa, a long way from the -10 C to -20 C needed to freeze the canal, according to the National Capital Commission.

The mild start to the season had some locals concerned about the impact of climate change on Canadian winters – not that they were complaining. Paul Allen wore a light coat that he zipped halfway closed during a midday stroll alongside the canal with his wife Hilary.

“It’s mixed emotions, right? It’s beautiful for walking,” said Mr. Allen, an Ottawa native who recalls shovelling six-foot-high snowbanks on Christmas mornings as a child.

“For sure, climate change is having an impact; I don’t think you can dispute that,” Ms. Allen said.

Plants are even confused by the mild weather, blooming and sprouting in what’s usually a harsher month.

Kath Smyth, a horticulturalist with the Calgary Horticultural Society, said her kale, a cool-season crop, recently sprouted. She said she is unnerved by the warmth and lack of precipitation, and worries brisk winds will dry out plant beds even more.

Like a down jacket, snow acts as a barrier against the harsh elements, providing insulation to hold moisture in the soil. But direct sunlight is melting away the small amount of snow that’s settled. Not only does this set the stage for plants to grow prematurely, but could cause significant damage to perennials.

“If we don’t get the snow cover but we get the cold, there will be damage in the crowns, there will be tip damage,” she said, adding plants that maintain foliage year-round can also see stunted growth as a result of the warm, dry weather. Ms. Smyth recommends people pile any snow on top of their plant beds, what she called “snow farming,” if snow continues to be sporadic.

With reports from Carrie Tait in Calgary and The Canadian Press