Thunder Bay is on pace to break the all-time average temperature record for November, despite the fact that a cooling trend and snow are in the forecast for the end of this week.
The city set another high-temperature record on the weekend, with Saturday's mark of 16 C easily passing the 13.9 C mark that was set in 1958.
Sunday's high temperature of almost 16 C. fell just short of the record for that date, but new highs were set in other northwestern Ontario communities yesterday including Kenora, Dryden and Fort Frances.
"Our average temperature approaching the halfway point of the month is 6.3 degrees Celcius," said Environment Canada meteorologist Jeff Coulson.
"The long-term average temperature for the whole month of November is minus three, so we're way above that." He noted that that is a difference of "nine massive degrees."
Coulson said this month could end up being the mildest November ever, even after a temporary cool-down expected by the weekend.
The long-range forecast for Thunder Bay calls for a 60% chance of snow on late Friday or Saturday. Coulson said a weather system expected to move in from Colorado will likely bring more snow accumulations for communities to the west such as Kenora and Dryden.
He described it as "Not only the first appreciable snow (of the season) for Thunder Bay, but the first general snowfall across northwestern Ontario."
Coulson added that in the wake of the system this weekend, temperatures will dip below seasonal values before bouncing back next week to above-normal readings, "not as normal as we've seen recently, but still remaining above normal."
