SD&G – An extra snow shovel may be in order because a “classic Canadian winter” is in store for SD&G.
So says The Weather Network, which is out this week with its winter outlook forecast.
“I think the story is going to be active weather this year. A very stormy pattern…lots of those Colorado lows tracking through the Great Lakes and I think, in short, that’s going to mean a lot of precipitation,” meteorologist Michael Carter told Cornwall Newswatch.
“A great winter for the snow lovers that might have felt a little cheated the last couple of the mild winters,” he said.
The water temperature of the Great Lakes will be a factor in how much lake effect snow we receive. He says temperatures are running above normal “although not as far above normal as they were last year at this time,” Carter said.
Cornwall and SD&G typically sees 37 centimeters (14.5 inches) of snow in December, 47 (18.5 inches) in January and 38 (15 inches) in February.
Average daytime highs are around the freezing mark in December, minus 4 in January and minus 2 in February.
Carter says a weak to moderate La Nina in the tropics of the Pacific Ocean will create an “amplified” jet stream and will see moisture pulled into Eastern Ontario from the Gulf of Mexico by way of Colorado.
As far as cold arctic air, that’s expected to be west of us around Alberta and Saskatchewan.
“Certainly, there will be times during the season when we see the polar vortex shifting east more over Hudson Bay and that’s when we have the potential of shots of arctic air into the Great Lakes,” he said.
Temperatures are expected to be around normal for Eastern Ontario.