Environment Canada's senior climatologist David Phillips was in Moose Jaw last week for the Prairie Oat Growers Association annual conference.

He told producers we are in a super El Niño which means we can expect warm, dry conditions to continue through the winter, but that doesn't mean we won't see the occasional blast of winter.

"There will be those tough moments - it just means that winter won't be as long. We'll see more mild breaks between cold waves. That's what we're seeing, we seem to be getting that, and I think that's the pattern that we're going to see throughout the winter," Phillips said.

He notes for people looking for a white Christmas there is the potential for it, adding when we look at the past trends in El Niño years. we've seen it.