It may be arriving later than some years, but the winter weather is definitely heading our way.
Environment Canada released its three-month outlook yesterday, and the forecast is calling for colder-than-normal temperatures as Nova Scotia moves into the chilliest months of the year. On the upside, we probably won’t be seeing more than the usual amount of snow.
“For that entire three-month period, we’re looking at about normal amount of precipitation,” said Environment Canada meteorologist Bob Robichaud.
Unfortunately, he added, the long-term forecast is based on computer-generated models that are about as accurate as a crystal ball at a neighbourhood carnival.
“We’re looking at below 50 per cent accuracy,” Robichaud said. “So you kind of have to take it with a grain of salt.”
After nearly a month of downright balmy temperatures — tomorrow’s high is expected to hit 14 C — Haligonians have likely started to wonder when Mother Nature will wake up and blanket us all in several feet of snow, ice and general discontent.
“Temperatures, as a whole for November, were about 2.6 degrees above normal,” Robichaud confirmed, but added that October was unusually cold, and Canadians often have short memories when it comes to the weather.
“A lot of times people forget what we’ve had in other years,” Robichaud said. “Sometimes when you actually dig a bit deeper and look at the numbers, they can be a bit surprising.”
A quick glance at Environment Canada’s historical data for Halifax shows he’s right. Just three years ago in 2006, for example, the average temperature in November was 6 C, and only 2 cm of snow fell from the skies above Halifax. This year, the average temperature was 5.7 C, and we got 10 cm of snow.
