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A prolonged deep freeze has enveloped a severe and lengthy Arctic outbreak, with thermometers lingering from 20 to 40 degrees below zero for an extended duration. On Tuesday, Braeburn in the Yukon recorded -55.7C, representing its most frigid December day since 1975.

Prolonged Freeze of Extreme Cold

Meanwhile, Mayo and Dawson endured sixteen nights in a row below -40C, with Mayo plunging to -50.4C on Monday. Whitehorse similarly reported 10 nights when the cold dipped under -30 Celsius.

The bitter chill extended its reach south over the festive period. In Edmonton, the Christmas overnight low dipped under -28 degrees Celsius.

December 26th was anticipated to usher in readings no higher than -20 Celsius through a wide swath, encompassing cities from Edmonton to Quebec.

Expected to Continue into the New Year

The severe cold is forecast to persist for the foreseeable future. There are warnings of possible electrical grid strain in Yukon territory over the next several days, as the territory’s power grid comes under strain from record-high energy demand.

The prolonged chill has been caused by a stationary polar vortex above Canadian territory through December, allowing bitter Arctic air to spill south. In the coming week, forecasts indicate this cold air will pull back northward gradually, enabling milder Pacific air to move across the United States and penetrate southern Canadian regions.

Pronounced Disparity Compared to Stateside Temperatures

Meanwhile, in a dramatic contrast, areas of the United States saw their warmest Christmas Day on record as temperatures soared about 15-30C above the seasonal average. In many areas, conditions felt more typical of April or May instead of the heart of winter.

Multiple states established new Christmas temperature highs. In Oklahoma, Oklahoma City hit 25C on Tuesday, exceeding the old record of 22C from 1982. Cities including Austin and Dallas, in Texas, and Charlotte, North Carolina similarly saw thermometers rise past the 25C mark.

High-Pressure System Drives the Heat

Unseasonable heat is predicted to persist on December 26th and into the weekend, with abnormal warmth projected to move across the southeastern US in the coming days.

The warmth has been fuelled by a robust atmospheric ridge reaching from the arid southwest across the continent, creating a heat-dome effect. This pattern establishes a broad area of high pressure across much of the continent, effectively capping warm air at lower altitudes. As air sinks through the atmosphere, it compresses and heats further, fostering the buildup of exceptional warmth.