Warm weekend ahead for many parts of the NWT

Most areas of the Northwest Territories can expect significantly warmer weather over the next few days, culminating in one of the winter’s warmest weekends to date.

Inuvik is expected to reach a high of -1C on Saturday while Fort Liard, extraordinarily, is currently forecast by Environment Canada to enjoy temperatures of 8C on Sunday.

That would be the Dehcho community’s warmest day since mid-October last year, though a similar January weather event briefly brought temperatures up to around 6C.

In Yellowknife, the forecast high increases from -22C on Wednesday to -13C on Thursday, -11C on Friday, -12C on Saturday and -9C on Sunday. Overnight lows will be between -15C and -20C.

Norman Wells and Fort Smith can expect temperatures as high as -4C, with up to -3C in Hay River and Fort Simpson.

Chinook winds – warm winds coming in from the Pacific Ocean to western Canada – are often responsible for brief bursts of significantly warmer weather in the Dehcho.

Chinooks rarely last long. Fort Liard’s Sunday forecast calls for a low of -16C despite reaching 8C earlier in the day.