Unsettled Weekend Ahead

Unsettled weather will continue through the weekend as multiple disturbances ripple across Southern Manitoba, bringing mixed skies alongside a few chances for rain.

Yet another round of nocturnal convection1 will roll through this morning just ahead of a weak cold front slowly pushing eastwards across the Red River Valley. As of writing this2 there is still some uncertainty as to how extensive the convection will become, but best indications are that we could see a few showers or thundershowers early this morning as a more intense area of convection passes to the south. After that, Winnipeg & the Red River Valley should see clearing skies through the morning, especially once the "cold" front moves through.

Behind the cold front, westerly winds will ease the humidity that has built into the region over the past two days as dew points drop from the upper teens back towards the 10°C mark. With drier weather and sunny skies, temperatures should climb to a high near 27 or 28°C throughout the Red River Valley with winds up to 20-30km/h out of the west-northwest. Expect partly cloudy skies overnight with a low near 15°C.

Saturday will bring more cloud to the region as mixed skies develop through the morning with a chance of some light shower activity through the Red River Valley. Things should clear out by the evening, and the late day sun should push us to a high near 26°C.

While models keep the bulk of precipitation to our south on Saturday, a few light showers are possible thorugh the Red River Valley.
While models keep the bulk of precipitation to our south on Saturday, a few light showers are possible thorugh the Red River Valley.

Winds will shift back around to the south late in the day, beginning to bring more humid air back into the region; with dew points expected to rise back into the mid-teens overnight, overnight lows will be kept fairly warm at around 17°C. We'll see a few clouds overnight.

Sunday will see yet another disturbance move through the region bringing another chance of showers or thunderstorms. The main threat for precipitation will occur through the morning hours, followed by skies becoming mixed in the afternoon. Daytime highs should be around 26 or 27°C with muggy conditions in place much of the day as dew point values hover around 17°C. As skies clear, gusty winds will pick up out of the west to around 30 km/h.

This simulated RADAR image from the NAM shows a large area of convective rainfall moving through the Red River Valley on Sunday.
This simulated RADAR image from the NAM shows a large area of convective rainfall moving through the Red River Valley on Sunday.

Drier air will push in Sunday evening, helping overnight lows dip to a cooler 13°C or so with just a few clouds.

Long Range

Unfortunately, things don't look much better to start off next week. Another round of showers are possible late Monday through the overnight period as a disturbance slumps through from the northwest. Afterwards, though, it looks like we might see a few dry days with daytime highs ranging from the low 20's to the upper 20's.

  1. Nocturnal convection is the term applied to thunderstorms that persist through the overnight period. They are different from typical thunderstorms in that they get their heat and moisture from features detached from the ground.
  2. Currently around 10PM on Thursday evening.

Brad

Brad lives in Winnipeg with his wife and two children and is the founder of A Weather Moment. He has loved weather from a very young age and has followed that passion through his life so far. He received a B.Sc. in Earth Sciences with Specialization in Atmospheric Sciences and is currently employed in the field of meteorology. You can find the author as WeatherInThePeg on Mastodon.