It’s already the end of the year and folks from coast to coast and preparing to ring in 2025 in style. Will the weather cooperate with plans for a night out?
Things are looking mighty chilly across the western Prairies, while stormy conditions might greet the new year for folks in places like Vancouver and Toronto. There’s even a potential for auroras on Tuesday, depending on the timing of an arriving solar storm.
Here’s a look at your forecast as we flip the calendar over to a fresh start.
DON’T MISS: Year in review: 5 weather records broken in Canada
A burst of magnetized plasma from the Sun this weekend prompted the U.S. Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) to issue a geomagnetic storm watch for Tuesday, Dec. 31. This solar storm could reach G3 intensity, which is enough to produce auroras over Canada.
The timing of the storm’s arrival is key. We won’t have the chance to see much of anything if the storm arrives during our daytime. However, the odds of aurora viewing might increase for cloud-free areas if the solar storm arrives late or lingers past sunset across the country.
Closer to ground level, the same unsettled pattern that’s been draped over southern British Columbia of late isn’t going to let up anytime soon.
Seasonable temperatures with persistent clouds are in the forecast for communities like Vancouver and Victoria for much of the upcoming week, including New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
A system moving into the coast late on Tuesday may bring some low-elevation rain for any New Year’s Eve celebrations across Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland, including Victoria and Vancouver.
Folks over on the Prairies are set to ring in the new year with a blast of Arctic air scooting across the region.
A deep surge of frigid air surging out of the territories will sweep the western and central Prairies through New Year’s Eve and straight into New Year’s Day.
MUST SEE: Scientists make discovery about Mars’ mysterious, planet-circling dust storms
We’re on track to see quite the temperature divide develop, with Churchill, Manitoba, likely coming in warmer than Calgary, Alberta, as 2024 flips to 2025.
Daytime temperatures on Wednesday will struggle to climb out of the minus-20s in Edmonton and Saskatoon, with highs lodged in the minus-teens throughout the rest of the region.
Temperatures and wind chill values will be cold enough to risk hypothermia and frostbite for anyone who spends too much time outdoors unprotected. Make sure to stay warm and toasty if you plan to go out on Tuesday night.
Revellers in places like Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal might have to deal with the effects of a nearby low-pressure system by Tuesday night.
SEE ALSO: Don’t throw your stale cookies away — this trick helps bring freshness back
Polar air heading east from the Prairies will sweep into the Great Lakes region by New Year’s Eve, sending temperatures down from the lofty heights they reached over the weekend.
Forecasters will watch the progress of a low-pressure system tracking north through the eastern U.S. for potential snowfall across parts of Ontario and Quebec. Winds behind the system are likely to kick off some potent lake-effect snow squalls, as well.
Stay tuned through the week as forecasters hammer out the details on these opportunities for snow heading into the new year.
The same system that could bring snow to Ontario and Quebec will drag southerly winds across much of the Maritimes, sending temperatures above seasonal for the start of the year.
Showery conditions and temperatures in the mid-single digits are likely from Halifax to St. John’s for New Year’s Day, with some snow possible throughout interior sections of New Brunswick.
Stay with The Weather Network for all the latest on conditions across Canada.
