'Milder than normal' winter ahead for Edmonton, senior climatologist says

Edmontonians can look forward to an El Nio winter, with milder than normaltemperatures weather, says David Phillips, senior climatologist for Environment Canada.

El Niois associated with warmer than normal waters in the Pacific ocean.

"We're showing that the winter will be milder than normal because the Pacific water temperatures are warmer and when that happens we generally see less of an Arctic flow and more of a Pacific flow," Phillips said Tuesday.

October and November could prove to be warmer than normal, though there will still be cold days, hesaid.

"We never cancel winter," but Edmonton should experiencesome thawing and perhaps a shorter winter, Phillipssaid.

While Edmonton has been experiencing an "exceptionally record-cold fall" people should not be thinking that winter has already arrived, he said.

• Nooo! Edmonton gets first snowfall of season

September"gives you no sense at all of how the winter will play out," Phillips said, describing last month as"the cruelest September ever."

The Edmonton International Airport recorded 38.4 centimetresof snow last month. The normal for September is one centimetre, he said.

The previous record for snowat the airport forSeptember was 12.9 centimetres in 1965.

Also, there were only three daysthe temperature roseabove 20 C, whereas in 2017 there were 15, Phillips said.

The reason?

"Ameteorological freak" the most vigorous and strongest high-pressure system seen in North America in 60 years, he said.

Usually these systems last a week, butthis one continued for three and a half weeks.

"It stayed put. It didn't moveand it was like creating a pipeline of cold air right from Siberia right down to Edmonton," Phillips said.