THUNDER BAY — Christmas week in Thunder Bay will be remembered not just for the unusual absence of snow but also for abnormally mild temperatures.
According to Environment Canada data, new records were set on Dec. 24 and on Dec. 25, both for the highest temperature and the highest minimum temperature.
Meteorologist Gerald Cheng said Sunday's high of 8.3 C broke the previous mark of 7.8 C, which was established in 1928.
The lowest temperature of the day, 3.4 C, also shattered the record of 0.0 set in 1877.
On Christmas Day, the high temperature of 7.9 smashed the old record of 5.6 established in in 1999, and the lowest temperature, 1.2 C, just scraped by the mark of 1.1 that dated back to 1877.
Thunder Bay will see a trend toward more seasonal temperatures by the weekend.
But the weather patterns impacted by El Nino, which left the city with a brown Christmas this year, appear set to continue for the first part of January.
Climatologist Graham Saunders noted Wednesday that in the 20th century, there was virtually a 100 per cent chance the city would experience a white Christmas, which is defined as at least two centimetres of snow on the ground.
This century, however, there have been multiple close calls with a brown Christmas, most recently in 2006 when the ground was covered by just one centimetre of snow.
Saunders said things didn't change much when the calendar turned to January 2007, as there was little snow throughout the entire month, when it reached a maximum depth of 10 cm on the ground but generally hovered between only three and seven cm.
At this point, various long-range forecasts for Thunder Bay point to the possibility of a similar pattern over the next couple of weeks.
It's a disappointing outlook for skiers and for snowmobilers such as Adrian Tessier, president of the Thunder Bay Adventure Trails snowmobile club.
"I was actually looking this morning, and for the next two weeks there may be a couple centimetres, but it's such a low probability rate that I think it would get me nothing" for the trails, he said.
The group maintains over 300 kilometres of trails and operates two grooming machines.
Tessier said the lack of snow doesn't necessarily impact the sale of trail permits, as most people purchase theirs well in advance of the season, when there's a significant discount.
"In October or November, you're looking forward to things, and if the weather doesn't cooperate, there's not too much you can do about that, other than just ride it out, and hope that once the New Year comes, things will get better."
He said he remains confident the trail network will open at some point this winter, adding that the club is committed to getting them groomed and that "we're not going to let our riders down as a club."
Despite the absence of snow, club volunteers are still making preparations for the season, including putting up an emergency shelter on the trail at a point about halfway between Kakabeka Falls and Shabaqua.
