The Weather Network's Winter Outlook: Meteorologists Share What to Expect this Winter

A Return to Winter Weather Conditions

OAKVILLE, ON, Nov. 26, 2012 /CNW/ - The Weather Network's meteorologists issued today their winter outlook for the months of December, January and February and Canadians should expect a return to winter weather conditions. 

Unlike last winter, the upcoming season will be more in line with a typical Canadian winter. Alternating patterns of fair and stormy conditions are expected throughout the season, meaning Canadians can look for stretches of calm weather followed by a winter storm. Typical of this type of weather pattern, it wouldn't be unusual to see temperatures higher in Yukon than Southern Ontario on occasion this winter.

"We are likely to get more of a winter this year than what Mother Nature delivered last year, but it won't necessarily be brutal either," said Chris Scott, Director of Meteorology with The Weather Network. "Last winter's tame conditions were unusual; whereas this year it's unlikely your snowbrushes and shovels will have a chance to collect dust."

Western Canada Winter
Precipitation across Western Canada is expected to be near normal from British Columbia through to the Manitoba/Ontario border.  Western Nunavut is anticipated to be the only exception where conditions are on tap to be drier than normal.  Much of the northern Prairies and Northwest Territories are likely to experience below normal temperatures; all other regions are forecast to have near normal temperatures.

Eastern Canada Winter
Most areas east of the Manitoba/Ontario border can look for near normal conditions throughout the winter months.  Canadians in Atlantic Canada can anticipate a winter with above normal precipitation and temperatures due to an active storm track along the jet stream.

What does 'normal' mean?
When forecasters refer to a normal, they are talking about the mathematical average of the temperature or precipitation recorded over 30 years.  To calculate the average winter temperature for a particular city during the winter months, meteorologists add together all the daily average temperatures for December, January and February and divide the total by 90 (3-month period).  When temperatures are expected to be above or below normal, meteorologists are forecasting the average temperature over the 90 days to be one degree above or below average.  The same can be applied to precipitation.  When above or below normal precipitation is expected, a specific area is forecast to receive 30 per cent more or less precipitation than usual.

The Weather Network's Winter Outlook is now available at theweathernetwork.com/outlook. To learn even more about the conditions this winter, tune into The Weather Network on November 25^th for a sneak peak. Complete details will be available on November 26^th.

The Weather Network's Winter 2012 - 2013 Outlook

Region	Temperature Outlook	Precipitation Outlook
British Columbia	Near normal.	Near normal.
Alberta	Below normal for northeastern Alberta. Near normal conditions elsewhere.	Near normal for the province.
Saskatchewan	Below normal for northern and east-central Saskatchewan. Near normal conditions elsewhere.	Near normal for the province.
Manitoba	Near normal for the northeastern and southern parts of Manitoba. Below normal elsewhere.	Near normal for the province.
Ontario	Below normal for portions of the northwest. Near normal elsewhere.	Above normal for the Georgian Bay region into the Nickel Belt.. Near normal elsewhere.
Québec	Above normal for areas around the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Near Normal elsewhere.	Above normal for areas around the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Near normal elsewhere.
The Maritimes and Newfoundland	Above normal for: NS, PEI, most of NFLD, and southeastern NB. Near normal elsewhere.	Above normal for: NS, PEI, eastern NB, and western NFLD. Near normal elsewhere.
Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut	Below normal for most of the Northwest Territories and the western parts of Nunavut. Above normal for eastern Nunavut. Near normal elsewhere.	Below normal for western Nunavut. Above normal for eastern Nunavut. Near normal elsewhere.

About Pelmorex Media Inc.
Founded in 1989, Pelmorex Media Inc. is the parent company of The Weather Network, MétéoMédia, Travelers Network and Réseau Voyageurs. In July 2012, Pelmorex added Eltiempo to its lineup, Spain's leading multi-platform weather-related information service.  The California-based Beat The Traffic service was acquired in September 2012 to complement Travelers Network, a service dedicated to routing users from point A to B, around the corner or around the globe, via all modes of transportation.  Pelmorex is a leader in meeting the information needs of consumers with invaluable content, ease of accessibility, overall quality and a compelling experience on all platforms and also in meeting the weather information needs of commercial and government clients whose success relies on accurate and reliable weather related information.   The Weather Network and its French counterpart, MétéoMédia are among the top media brands in Canada and market leaders in the multi-platform digital market including, web, smartphones and tablets. The Weather Network and MétéoMédia television services are in every home via cable, satellite and telco distributors and rank among Canada's most frequently consulted services.  Pelmorex has also been licensed to operate Canada's National Alerting Aggregation and Dissemination System (NAADS) which aggregates and distributes emergency alerts issued by authorized government agencies; alerts are made available to the public via broadcasters and distributors as well as via the internet and mobile devices.  Pelmorex Media Inc. has been named one of Canada's 50 Best Managed Companies for seven consecutive years and is one of Greater Toronto's Top Employers for 2012. 

SOURCE: The Weather Network

For further information, maps or to arrange an interview with a meteorologist, please contact:

Deanna Ghandour
Corporate Communications Specialist, The Weather Network
905-829-1159 ext. 1358 [email protected]

Becky Brescacin
High Road Communications for The Weather Network
416-644-1398
[email protected]