🔗 Share this article Prolonged Chill Grips Canada as United States Experiences Hottest Christmas in History. Northern Canada has been gripped by a bitter and extended period of frigid weather, with thermometers lingering in the minus 20 to minus 40 Celsius range for weeks. This week, the Yukon community of Braeburn saw the mercury drop to -55.7C, its coldest December temperature since 1975. Prolonged Freeze of Extreme Cold Similarly, the communities of Mayo and Dawson experienced sixteen nights in a row below -40C, with the temperature in Mayo bottoming out at -50.4 degrees Celsius earlier this week. The capital, Whitehorse, likewise saw a series of ten nights when the cold dipped under -30 Celsius. The deep freeze spread farther south through Christmas week. In Edmonton, the Christmas overnight low dipped under -28 degrees Celsius. Boxing Day was expected to bring readings no higher than -20 Celsius across many regions, encompassing cities from Edmonton to Quebec. Forecast to Persist into the New Year This harsh winter weather is expected to continue into the new year. Officials have warned that the Yukon could face electricity outages soon, as the territory’s power grid comes under strain from record-high energy demand. The prolonged chill has been caused by the Arctic vortex settling across the northern part of the continent this month, allowing bitter Arctic air to spill south. Next week, the cold air mass is expected to retreat north gradually, enabling milder Pacific air to move across the United States and penetrate southern Canadian regions. Stark Contrast Compared to Stateside Temperatures Conversely, sections of America recorded historically high temperatures for Christmas as readings skyrocketed 15 to 30 degrees Celsius above normal. For numerous locations, the weather resembled a spring day in April or May rather than the end of December. Several states set Christmas Day temperature records. The capital of Oklahoma soared to 25C on Christmas Day, topping the prior high mark of 22 degrees established over forty years ago. Metropolitan areas such as Austin, Dallas, and Charlotte similarly saw thermometers rise past the 25C mark. High-Pressure System Fuels Warmth Unseasonable heat is predicted to persist on December 26th and into the weekend, with abnormal warmth projected to move across the southeastern US in the coming days. The warmth has been fuelled by a strong upper-level ridge stretching from the southwestern deserts northward and eastward, creating a heat-dome effect. 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, fostering the buildup of exceptional warmth.