Winnipeggers enjoy mild mid-November weather, but researcher says still too early to predict winter

The Southside Golf Course south of Winnipeg decided to temporarily reopen on Monday after keeping a close eye on this week's mild forecast.

"We made the decision last week to give it a shot," said Shael Hechter, the golf course's assistant general manager.

The golf course will remain open for the week so long as the grass remains clear of precipitation, daily temperatures hit at least five degrees celsius and overnight lows don't dip too low, said Hechter.

"It's awesome. This time of year, we're normally checking the weather to see what the road conditions are like," he said.

The reopening was announced through emails and social media at around 11 a.m. Monday, said Hechter, adding "the phones started ringing not long after that."

Gavin Fisette said he called to book a tee time at Southside after his mom sent a picture of the announcement.

"It feels great. I was kind of missing golf for the past month," he said. "It's just nice to get out here."

WATCH |Winnipeg golfers tee off in balmy mid-November weather:

Winnipeg golfers tee off in balmy mid-November weather

11 months ago

Duration 2:45

It's suddenly golf season in Winnipeg again, as mild weather across southern Manitoba has melted the season's first snowfall. CBC's Jim Agapito talks to some late-season golfers at Southside Golf Course near the city.

However, the unusually warm weather at this time of year is a bit concerning for Fisette, he said.

"It's kind of weird. I feel like it's the first time in mid-November that there's next to no snow."

Global weather patterns

A Winnipeg researcher says unusually warmer temperatures this week are not cause for concern or optimism about what winter will bring, but are instead part of a variety of factors, including an expected global weather pattern.

Part of the reason behind the mild temperatures is the global weather pattern El Nio, which returned for the first time in seven years, says Alex Crawford, a research associate at the University of Manitoba's Centre for Earth Observation Science.

El Nio, a naturally occurring climate pattern associated with warming of the ocean surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, usually starts in the fall, said Crawford. But this year, it arrived in June.

"That's one of the main reasons why this year has been so warm for the Earth as a whole," he said.

"Depending on the warm fronts and the cold fronts that come through, we should see pretty variable weather in November."

The warmer weather is not necessarily cause for alarm, he said, but it is also not reason to believe Winnipeg's winter will lose its bite this year.

'It's welcome'

Forecasting Winnipeg weather can be awkward since the city sits in the middle of the continent and is subject to various factors, such as climate change, El Nio, the polar jet stream and extratropical cyclones, according to Crawford.

"We are [also] at the tail end of a little cold front that popped through a few days ago but right now, we're sitting right on the west side of the big high pressure system that's just pumping some warm air up from Colorado and New Mexico."

Chris Franz says he's not thinking too much about the particulars behind the recent weather, and that it didn't take much convincing to head to Southside to swing a club.

"It's a beautiful day. I've never golfed this late," he said.

"This warm weather is helping me get my yard work done and get the Christmas lights up, so it's welcome."