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Weird or what? Temperature went above zero seven times this month

Extended January thaw caused by shift in airmasses
JanuaryThaw
The weather has been unseasonably warm lately, as this impressive puddle near the YMCA building on Durham Street can attest. Photo by Heidi Ulrichsen.

As all Sudburians know, it's not uncommon to see temperatures of -30 C or below here in January, but so far this month, the average daytime high in the city has been -3.7 C.

The usual high for January is -9 C. This year, there have been seven days when the temperature has gotten above the freezing mark.

This means spring jackets have been more appropriate than our warmest coats, snowpants and longjohns, which would be normal garb for this time of year.

Believe it or not, though, this isn't the warmest January in Greater Sudbury's history — January 2006 was actually the warmest on record.

The extended January thaw over the past week or so is a result of shift in the airmasses from north to south, according to Environment Canada.

“The beginning of the month, even for much of December, pretty much this entire province was in this cold northwest flow pattern,” said Mark Schuster, a meteorologist with Environment Canada.

“All of the airmasses were coming from the Arctic. There was a shift in the pattern about a week to 10 days ago, and most of the airmasses now across the province and even across the prairies … are more from the south and even from the Pacific.

“These tend to be considerably warmer, and there was more moisture as well with these. Some areas had several days of really bad fog. That's been one of the consequences of this warm and moist air mass.”

There was a brief warm spell around Jan. 10, when the daytime high of 3.5 C shattered the previous record of 2.8 C for that day, set in 1975. 

The current extended January thaw has been going on for about a week now, and will last until the weekend, when temperatures are expected to be -7 C on Saturday and -9 C on Sunday.

Schuster said it's a testament to just how snowy it was here in December that Greater Sudbury still has snow. In some places in southern Ontario, all the snow has melted.

The warm weather isn't exactly good news for winter sports enthusiasts.

For example, the contractor who oversees the preparation of the Ramsey Lake Skate Path hasn't even been able to start work yet because the ice depth isn't sufficient.

The Queen's Athletic Field skating oval is also currently closed because of the warm weather.

The Pond Hockey Festival on the Rock, which has traditionally taken place on Ramsey Lake, was cancelled last year due to weather conditions.

Because the weather is also too warm this year, the Feb. 3-5 festival has been moved to the James Jerome Sports Complex and turned into a boot hockey tournament.

Other winter recreation facilities, including the Walden Cross-Country Fitness Club and the Adanac and the Lively ski hills, remain open despite the warm weather.


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Heidi Ulrichsen

About the Author: Heidi Ulrichsen

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