Much of Canada is in for a harsh winter and that’s the case for most of Saskatchewan. The Weather Network’s winter forecast for December through February is calling for a colder than average winter in Saskatchewan, but the southwest corner of the province should be about average.

Meteorologist Brad Rousseau says December will be more back and forth between colder and warmer weather, similar to what November has been, but in the heart of winter in January and February, a more steady, colder pattern will settle in. The extreme southern parts of Saskatchewan around the border may experience more snowfall, but otherwise the rest of the province will have average snowfall amounts.

Rousseau explains that the colder temperatures in January and February will be because of the North Pole’s polar vortex, which is an area of low pressure in the upper atmosphere that is always there. Branches of the vortex can break off or it can shift around the pole. If it shifts further south, it brings Arctic air our way, and that means cold spells, where the frigid air settles over the province and takes awhile to move out again.