![](https://images.twnmm.com/c55i45ef3o2a/5AzzMEqKlIbpNxnh4yRWBn/0fe01ee9a66d006110cd4482b09f2ee2/thumb.jpg?fm=webp&q=80&w=3840)
This persistent temperature fever will slow down a winter free-fall for Canada
Canada's fall into winter will be extra choppy as a result of an above-normal streak in Nunavut.
Nunavut, where the atmosphere makes some of the coldest air in the Northern Hemisphere, is running a stubborn fever – the impacts will be far-reaching across Canada.
Imagine a single day of 9°C above-normal temperatures this time of year, Canada. That would be a high close to 20°C in Toronto for early November, with overnight lows in the double-digits.
Parts of Nunavut pulled off that as a mean temperature anomaly for October, and along with it, over 100 daily records toppled like dominoes.
![Nunavut temperature records](https://images.contentful.com/c55i45ef3o2a/2Qe2gd5x2KkSoXMINygHkX/c957bcda3fed2b50be913f4f964de0ff/Screen_Shot_2021-11-04_at_8.10.57_PM.png?w=3840&q=80&fm=webp)
The abundance of warmth did a number to sea ice growth over the past several weeks.
The Northwest Passage is essentially ice-free. Hudson Bay is usually feverishly building ice throughout November, but instead, water temperatures are about four degrees above normal.
![Sea ice concentration](https://images.contentful.com/c55i45ef3o2a/69CrHG6hlqRgGqqKM6LAyq/d086fd90af43ce77adc99fde82fbe157/Screen_Shot_2021-11-04_at_8.11.04_PM.png?w=3840&q=80&fm=webp)
What happens in the Arctic certainly doesn't stay there, and as these normally frigid air masses encounter open waters running a fever, this warms the in situ air mass accordingly.
There's a lack of snow cover across the intrepid journey south towards the provinces, and it'll do little to chill the air.
It's the type of setup that argues for a choppy back-and-forth between air masses over the next few weeks across Canada. That chatter will eventually develop a more sustained pattern change bringing cold and snow into central and eastern Canada.
![Upper level pattern mid november](https://images.contentful.com/c55i45ef3o2a/4RWTCGVJLyX1QYuMv6WUJ5/cde1977f0875c720c081856ca40fb57c/Screen_Shot_2021-11-04_at_8.11.10_PM.png?w=3840&q=80&fm=webp)
So if you've delayed putting on winter tires, this probably bought you an extra couple of weeks. Consider this a grace period because, odds are, winter weather will set in before we flip the calendar to December.