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Warm January weather in Whitehorse "quite, quite something": former senior climatologist for Environment Canada

Forecast high for Jan. 14 is 4C
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Mid-January 2025 in Whitehorse has been full of above-seasonal temperatures.

With Environment and Climate Change Canada forecasting a high of 4C in Whitehorse on Jan. 14, it is feeling decidedly springlike in the depths of the Yukon winter.

A winter warm-up is not uncommon for southern Yukon winters, said Mike Smith, chief meteorologist at the Yukon Wildland Fire Management Branch.

“The Haines Junction, Whitehorse, Teslin areas, we are so geographically close to the ocean that it doesn't take a lot to get some of that warm air pushing into us, which is why seeing one or two good warm-ups every year in the winter is pretty usual,” said Smith.

However, Smith did say the total number of warm days and the intensity of the winter warmth is atypical.

“I'd say the only place where these warm-ups really differ is just how many days we've spent, you know, above the freezing mark and not dropping below zero overnight.”

David Phillips, now retired, was the senior climatologist for Environment and Climate Change Canada. He said this warmth is “quite, quite something,” and the duration is exceptional.

He said the normal temperatures for this time of year in Whitehorse are a high of -14C and a low of -22C. This means that Jan. 12’s high of 4.1C is 18 degrees warmer than what one would normally expect for Whitehorse at this time of year.

In comparison, the daytime high of Jan. 12 last year was -25.6

While Phillips said he was not sure these temperatures are record-breaking, but that he thinks they are very close to it.

He said there is a ridge of high-pressure in the southern Yukon bringing warm, southern air from British Columbia. Then, as that already warm air is moved down the slope of the mountains, it’s being warmed up even more, he said.

The Arctic is warming with climate change, meaning the polar jet stream is weakening, said Smith of Wildland Fire. The weakened jet stream allows icy Arctic air to escape far south, while warm southern air has an easier time coming north he added.

Smith gave the example to a recent snowstorm in the American Southeast, which has cancelled hundreds of flights out of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, as reported by the Associated Press.

Across North America, he said, the weather is departing from the norm.

Certain areas of the Yukon appear to be experiencing a warming trend, said Smith, identifying Haines Junction and Kluane as one such area.

The warming trend is far more pronounced in the north of the territory, said Smith.

“Old Crow is one place where we see, pretty much every winter, they end up a few degrees warmer than the 30-year average, which is what we usually refer to when we're looking at climate normals,” said Smith. “So we are seeing a little bit of warm-up in the south, but way way more in the north — unambiguous up there.”

As a meteorologist for Wildland Fire, Smith said it’s too soon to tell how this type of warm weather will impact this year’s fire season. He said the loss of snowpack is a concern.

"If we don't make it up later in the winter, then we could go from what was looking like a good recovery of fire danger over the winter to maybe starting a little bit on the higher end,” said Smith.

Phillips said while this January thaw may save some money on home heating bills, there’s a bigger picture to consider. He said the weather is abnormal, which can have downstream effects.

“I always think the weather you're blessing right now, is maybe the weather you're cursing later on, because we don't know the total implications from nature of what this warm spell in January will be — what result will that bring in the middle of July?”