Many Canadians who have already spent the better part of a month shovelling and shivering through below-average temperatures and above-average snowfalls probably won't bat a frosty eyelid as winter officially descends early Saturday.
Despite a jump in temperatures forecast for the weekend in Eastern and Central Canada, 95 per cent of the country should have a white Christmas -- far higher than in recent years, says Environment Canada senior climatologist David Phillips.
"We've all experienced winter,'' he said. "Last year we were waiting for winter, looking for it, sending out search parties.''
Environment Canada doesn't quite measure the winter season starting at the December solstice. It instead defines it as running from the beginning of December to the end of February. At the beginning of that period, forecasters predicted colder than average temperatures from coast to coast.
As as we hit the actual solstice Saturday at 1:08 a.m. ET, which marks the formal start of winter on most calendars, Canada has more than complied.
With the exception of the Pacific coast, temperatures across the country have been about three degrees colder than average.
And the white stuff has been plentiful. In Toronto, 55 centimetres of snow have already fallen this year as opposed to less than one centimetre at the same time last year. In Ottawa, it's been an astounding 160 centimetres compared to 12 in 2006.
"They have more snow already in Ottawa as they had all of last winter, and winter hasn't even begun, astronomically,'' Phillips said.
He jokes that the last few weeks have been like a warmup for Canadians.
"We're in better shape. We've pushed and shovelled and dealt with snow. We're veterans at it.
"We've already gone through not just the first day of snow, but probably multiple days of snow, so the plowing is easier, people know where their snow shovels are and their ice scrapers, and the windshield washer (fluid) has been bought.''
This weekend, some hard-hit Canadian cities will see a small respite from the cold. In Ottawa, temperatures may hit 9 C with rain, with similar spikes in Toronto, Montreal and the Maritimes.
But when the Christmas countdown hits zero, temperatures will plunge as well, Phillips said.
It's all a lot different than last year.
"It was very sad. We had one of the greenest Christmases on record.''
Areas such as Quebec City, and Timmins and Thunder Bay in Ontario were bare on the 25th for the first time on record.
Not so this time.
"So there is a Santa Claus. We really are seeing a difference from last year in so many different ways, and I think it looks like Canada will be white to white to white across the country,'' Phillips said.
The only exceptions are likely to be Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary and possibly Windsor, Ont.. For Vancouver and Victoria that's not uncommon. They only have snow about one Christmas out of 10. Temperatures should hover around 6 C during the holidays.
Phillips, a weather guru who has all manner of figures and forecasts at his fingertips, makes sure to point out one more important detail as he skims across the broad surface of Canada's meterological map.
In Resolute, Nunavut, which is as close as he could get to the North Pole, Phillips predicted temperatures for Christmas look at -34 C, but with clear skies.
"Nothing should get in the way of blocking Santa from getting out and getting home. It looks like clear sailing.''
