Warm fall, mild winter forecast for Prairies
August 29, 2018, 9:23 am
Warmth will linger well into autumn across much of Canada, extending the already active wildfire season and delaying the first real chill of the season.
One reason for the widespread warmth is the anticipated development of El Niño.
El Niño occurs when the waters in the tropical Pacific Ocean are warmer than normal, influencing the global weather pattern.
The projected weather pattern favors a later-than-usual frost and freeze across much of southern Canada,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson said..
A warm and dry weather pattern is predicted to dominate much of the Prairies this season.
“This may be beneficial to the early fall harvest across the Prairies,” Anderson said.
However, it will lead to drought concerns for others.
Much of the region has been drier than normal throughout the summer months with moderate to severe drought in some areas, according to the Canada Drought Monitor.
Some of the worst drought conditions were located north of Winnipeg and west of Regina.
The anticipated weather this fall could cause drought to expand into other parts of the Prairies.
Meanwhile, the active wildfire season across British Columbia this summer will continue into the fall, extending the risk of far-reaching smoke and poor air quality.
More than 1,800 wildfires have been recorded across the region since April 1, burning over 3,800 square kilometers of land.
This makes 2018 the fourth most active wildfire season on record for British Columbia, according to the British Columbia Wildfire Service.
According to Anderson: “High fire danger likely to linger through early fall across much of western Canada with smoke continuing to be an issue, especially from southern British Columbia through the southern Prairies.”
Many storms moving into western Canada will be directed to the northern half of British Columbia and the southwestern part of the Yukon Territory, Anderson said, promoting dry conditions where a majority of the fires have been burning.
