Canadians still haunted by the heavy snow and biting cold of last winter can rest easy, as a "super El Nino" is expected to usher in warmer-than-normal temperatures for the fall and winter ahead.
Senior climatologist Dave Phillips of Environment Canada says the El Nino will be the most powerful one Canada has seen in the last 18 years, with above-average temperatures predicted for every province in the country.
"Most Canadians in the provinces will see a milder than normal winter," Phillips told CTV News Channel on Friday.
Phillips said temperatures won't be warm enough to "cancel" winter, but this season should be a welcome relief for Canadians, especially in Atlantic Canada, where metre-deep snow blanketed much of the region through the early months of 2015.
Phillips predicts the El Nino will raise seasonal temperatures when it arrives in late autumn, and last through the winter and into spring.
"It will feel tropical compared to the last two winters," he said.
