THUNDER BAY — If you enjoy outdoor activities in the winter, 2023 is getting off to a great start for you.
Environment Canada's long-range forecast points to the likelihood of above-average temperatures in the Thunder Bay region until the end of the month.
"The end of December was mild, and that's going to more or less continue through January," said meteorologist Steven Flisfeder. "This coming week, you're going to be a few degrees above normal. So temperatures during the day [will be] two or three degrees above where they should be at this time of year."
"Ordinarily you'd be looking at -9 C or -10 C as a daytime high. Right now it's looking more like you'll be getting -6 C or -7 C throughout most of the week."
Current forecast models indicate this trend will continue farther into the month as well, before temperatures start to dip back toward normal.
"It's going to be more of a continuing trend of above normal through to mid-month. It's really going to stay warm across the region overall. It's not to say that every day is going to be warm. There's going to be those highs and lows as weather tends to happen," he said.
This pattern is expected to continue for several weeks before "we'll see a dip back toward normal temperatures for that time of year."
Right now, there's plenty of sunshine and no snow in the forecast for the city right through Jan. 9.
December was nearly three degrees milder than normal in Thunder Bay, with a monthly mean temperature of - 8.9 C, compared with the long-term average of -11.6 degrees.
The snowfall, however, was considerably above normal.
At the Thunder Bay Airport, 80.4 cm of snow was recorded, nearly doubling the long-term average of 44.1 cm.
