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Winter in Spades
Nov. 30th, 2007 12:56 pmSource: Globe and Mail: Brace for cold, Canadians warned
The Canadian Press
November 30, 2007 at 10:56 AM EST
TORONTO — Environment Canada says it appears the country will have to endure its coldest winter in almost 15 years as everyone is reminded what a real Canadian winter feels like. Senior climatologist David Phillips said Canada has had a number of warmer-than-normal winters in recent years, but this December through February is forecast to be one of the harshest in recent memory. With the exception of a small pocket in southern Ontario, he said, the entire country is coloured blue for colder than normal on Environment Canada's weather map.
Precipitation forecasts are less reliable, but Mr. Phillips said the colder winter is likely to result in a white Christmas across a lot the country. Last year, a number of traditionally cold and snow-covered cities like Quebec City, Ottawa and Timmins, Ont., experienced their first green Christmas in decades. Mr. Phillips said a cold winter with lots of snow is good for the economy and will likely push people into doing their Christmas shopping and booking holidays to escape the cold.
“I always think it's good for the economy when weather is behaving like it should, when winters are cold and summers are hot,” he said. “With the Canadian dollar the way it is and with this colder than normal weather, it very well may be that the busiest people in the country are travel agents.”
Mr. Phillips says the forecast for cold weather is being triggered by La Niña, a period of lower than normal temperatures in the Pacific Ocean.
The Canadian Press
November 30, 2007 at 10:56 AM EST
TORONTO — Environment Canada says it appears the country will have to endure its coldest winter in almost 15 years as everyone is reminded what a real Canadian winter feels like. Senior climatologist David Phillips said Canada has had a number of warmer-than-normal winters in recent years, but this December through February is forecast to be one of the harshest in recent memory. With the exception of a small pocket in southern Ontario, he said, the entire country is coloured blue for colder than normal on Environment Canada's weather map.
Precipitation forecasts are less reliable, but Mr. Phillips said the colder winter is likely to result in a white Christmas across a lot the country. Last year, a number of traditionally cold and snow-covered cities like Quebec City, Ottawa and Timmins, Ont., experienced their first green Christmas in decades. Mr. Phillips said a cold winter with lots of snow is good for the economy and will likely push people into doing their Christmas shopping and booking holidays to escape the cold.
“I always think it's good for the economy when weather is behaving like it should, when winters are cold and summers are hot,” he said. “With the Canadian dollar the way it is and with this colder than normal weather, it very well may be that the busiest people in the country are travel agents.”
Mr. Phillips says the forecast for cold weather is being triggered by La Niña, a period of lower than normal temperatures in the Pacific Ocean.