🔗 Share this article Prolonged Chill Envelops Canada as United States Experiences Most Unseasonably Mild Christmas in History. Northern Canada has been gripped by a bitter and extended period of frigid weather, with temperatures hovering between -20C and -40C 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 16 consecutive nights below -40C, with Mayo plunging to -50.4C on Monday. Whitehorse similarly reported ten separate nights when readings fell to minus 30 degrees or lower. This Arctic air mass pushed further southward during the holiday season. On Christmas Day, overnight temperatures in Edmonton fell below -28C. December 26th was anticipated to usher in minimum temperatures of at least minus 20C through a wide swath, from Edmonton in the west to Quebec in the east. Expected to Continue into the New Year The frigid conditions are predicted to linger through the start of January. Authorities have cautioned about potential power failures in the Yukon in the coming days, as the territory’s power grid comes under strain from peak power usage levels. The lengthy cold snap originates from the polar vortex remaining anchored over Canada for much of December, enabling a surge of icy Arctic winds to descend. Next week, the cold air mass is expected to retreat north gradually, enabling milder Pacific air to move across the US and into parts of southern Canada. Stark Contrast to American Heat In stark contrast, parts of the US experienced the hottest December 25th in their history as readings skyrocketed 15 to 30 degrees Celsius above normal. In many areas, conditions felt more typical of April or May than late December. Several states set Christmas Day temperature records. In Oklahoma, Oklahoma City hit 25C on Tuesday, topping the prior high mark of 22 degrees established over forty years ago. Metropolitan areas such as Austin, Dallas, and Charlotte were also among those that recorded temperatures above 25C. Heat-Dome Effect Drives the Heat Above-average warmth is expected to continue on December 26th and into the weekend, with atypical high temperatures expected to spread into the south-eastern states later in the week. The unseasonable temperatures are powered by a robust atmospheric ridge reaching from the arid southwest across the continent, which generates a heat-dome phenomenon. This pattern establishes a broad area of high pressure over a large portion of North America, effectively capping warm air at lower altitudes. Descending air compresses and adiabatically warms, allowing unusually warm temperatures to build.