I have gathered a few interim statistics for the three capital cities, which show that overall we had a warm Fall (Sept-Oct-Nov). September was particularly warm, with Fredericton high temperatures running 4C above normal. While October was closer to normal, November was once again warmer than average… about 1.5C above normal.
Precipitation was variable, with Fredericton having a wet September, and Halifax a wet October. We have been lucky, with no significant winter weather as of yet.
interim Fall statistics
If we look at the sea surface temperatures, they remain well above normal. This should help December to remain on the mild side. Computer models are in agreement…
Sea Surface Temperature anomalies
December Forecast (red above normal)
The Environment Canada 3 month winter forecast is pretty confident that the winter will have above normal temperatures. The skill of this prediction has not been very good for the last couple of winters. The El Nino is very very strong in the eastern Pacific. There is normally less confidence that the warm signal from El Nino will have a consistent impact on Atlantic Canada. I suspect there will be a lot of variability in the weather in January and February as cold outbreaks interacting with the warm ocean result in some intense storms with mixed heavy precipitation and strong winds. Not great for travelling… but we’ll see what Mother nature blesses us with…
Notwithstanding what takes place after the New year, 2015 will assuredly be the warmest year on the global historical record… a fact certainly being taken seriously by world leaders in Paris.
Now back to reality. Even in an above normal regime, we will get messy weather. I’m still keeping an eye on a change to snow in many spots Thursday night.
Stay safe