Mid-November warm up hitting parts of Sask., with temperatures well above normal

You might be able to put your winter coat away this week in Saskatchewan.

David Phillips, senior climatologist with Environment Canada, said much of the province is seeing temperatures that are eight to 14 degrees warmer than normal for this time of year.

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“It looks like this week is clearly going to be mild,” Phillips said during an appearance on the Greg Morgan Morning Show.

Phillips said the warm weather is due to storms moving across the north, which are drawing up warm southern air.

Listen to the full interview with Phillips:

“You’re getting this warm air from the United States, so we don’t have a lot of snow on the ground, which is not cooling the air,” the climatologist explained.

“This is really kind of like a mid-November bonus – temperatures that are just unusually mild.”

Phillips said there might be a bit of snow and cooler weather ahead next week, but it shouldn’t be a deep freeze quite yet.

“You’re not going to pay for it. People always worry (when) you get a week like this. ‘Oh, nature is going to make up for it,’” he said.

“It’s going to turn a little cool for the next couple of weeks, but I don’t think any polar vortex kind of concerns.”

Grey Cup forecast

With many Saskatchewan residents headed to Winnipeg to cheer on the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Grey Cup on Sunday, Phillips said it won’t be too cold for fans in the stands.

“I love Grey Cups that are like the fog bowl, the snow bowl, the freeze bowl, the swamp bowl – where weather is as important as the injury reserve list and what kind of shoes you wear,” he said.

“But this week, it’s going to be in Winnipeg. It’s going to be the no-weather bowl. The weather is absolutely going to take a hike.”

Phillips said the high on Sunday in Winnipeg is 0 C.

“The only worry I have is the winds,” he noted. “Winds look a little strong on Saturday and maybe Sunday morning, but by kickoff time I think the winds will be just perfect.”

Northern lights put on a show in Saskatchewan skies

Phillips said a lot of people in Saskatchewan got a special treat on Tuesday night, as the northern lights put on a show in the skies over the province.

Northern lights over Saskatoon on Nov. 11, 2025. (Shaden Rislan Bani Yaseen/Submitted)

“I looked at the clear skies over Saskatchewan yesterday (Tuesday), and I thought ‘My gosh, it’s absolutely going to be a real show there,’ and it was,” he said.

“Many colors, just dancing in the sky. Wow, what a great time.”

The aurora was even visible in parts of the northern U.S. on Tuesday. Phillips said it’s rare for the northern lights to be spotted so far south, but the lights were especially bright due to some “very active” solar storms.

“The sun energizes the atoms up there in the ionosphere, and they’re just dancing along,” he said.

“What can ruin it are just cloudy skies, but it was clear right across many parts of North America, so it was a real treat.”