It's not winter yet: October is warmer than normal, says meteorologist

Fall is a transition season and October is usually when temperatures begin to shift from warm to cool — but not this year.

CBC meteorologist Kalin Mitchell said so far, daytime highs for the month have soared well above normal.

The average daily high in October is typically 13.2 C but just past the midway point, it's skyrocketed to 19.1 C

Mitchell said a lack of rain is mostly to blame.

"Without cloudy skies associated with rainy weather we've had a lot of sun in the province so far this month," Mitchell said.

So don't dust off the winter coat just yet. Mitchell said it would take substantially colder temperatures to bring the temperatures back to their normal range.

"We should expect fairly mild conditions with only brief bouts of cooler temperatures for the remainder of October," he said.

However, as it's only the middle of the month, Mitchell said we still don't have the whole picture.

"Obviously what happens with our temperatures over the next two weeks will have an impact as to how far above we deviate from the normal temperature," he said.

Farmer's Almanac predictions

Despite the warmer weather in October the Farmer's Almanac is still predicting a colder than normal winter, which should make an appearance in November.

The 2018 edition of the Almanac is predicting colder temperatures — about one to two degrees below normal — and above normal precipitation in many parts of the Maritimes.

"There is at least one storm on [February] 4th to the 7th where we talk about 30 to 60 centimetres and, as you know, the amounts of snow can vary by small geographies," said Peter Geiger, editor of the Farmers' Almanac, in a recent interview with CBC News.

Five large storms are expected to hit the Maritimes: one in January, two in February and two in March.