Weather Network calling for long, cold winter in capital region

Meteorologist Doug Gillham says the blast of bitter cold, felt by Ottawa residents last week, may have been a preview of the season to come.

“We've had an early start to the winter,” said the Meteorologist. “Unfortunately, we don't expected an early start to spring, to correspond with that, so that makes for a long winter.”

Listen to Weather Network Meteorologist Tyler Hamilton talking about the winter outlook on The Rick Gibbons Show:

Gillham said there is an El Nino this year though.

“Often El Nino means a mild winter across much of the country, but this is going to be a fairly weak El Nino,” he added. “We think the mild weather will be confined more to the western half of Canada.”

While Ottawa's temperatures this winter are expected to be colder than normal and last longer, snowfall amounts are expected to be average.