We are a few days into November, but it doesn’t feel like it in Waterloo Region. With temperatures soaring into the low twenties on Tuesday, the local weather looks more like early autumn, or even another country altogether. “This is a typical temperature for mid to late-September for here,” said Rob Kuhn, a severe weather meteorologist with Environment Canada. “Twenty-one degrees [Celsius] is the average high for November 3rd for Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. So that’s a subtropical climate there with palm trees and everything growing.” While there may not be palm trees in the region, local lawns are still noticeably green. The unseasonable stretch is keeping landscaping crews on their toes. Typically, companies like Spencer Property Care start their winter contracts on November 1. This year, however, crews are still out cutting grass. “All the lawns still look really green all around town, right? Versus most times they’d be yellow by now from all the drought in August,” said owner Steve Spencer. He noted that while the lack of a winter rush is nice, it delays storing summer equipment. “It does cause a lot of confusion with us getting ready for the wintertime. Last year we were plowing on the 8th of November.” Carrying over from October The unseasonably warm start to November follows the record-shattering month of October across the region. On Oct. 13, Waterloo Region set a daily heat record when temperatures reached 26.8 degrees Celsius. The heat returned late in the month on Oct. 29, when the mercury hit 21 degrees Celsius by 2 p.m., smashing a daily record of 20.8 degrees Celsius that had stood since 1989. Environment Canada said the average high for this time of year is usually around just 10 degrees Celsius. Driven by a powerful El Niño Environment Canada said the lingering summer-like conditions are being driven by a strong climate pattern in the Pacific Ocean. “This is a very strong, possibly early record-setting El Niño in the Pacific,” Kuhn explained. “If you look at a map of North America and where we are, the eastern Pacific, that warm part, is due south of us.” Kuhn predicts the rest of November will likely continue to be warm for this time of year, though seasonal temperatures and cold snaps will eventually return. For now, experts say to soak up the sunshine and mild weather while it lasts.
