As we quickly approach the beginning of fall, Winnipeggers can be happy to know that after the next couple days, the mitts can go back into the closet.

So what’s on tap?  For this evening, most of the RRV should see heavy drizzle or light rain as a trough line moves through that connects two low pressure systems: one in central Saskatchewan and one in South Dakota.  The precipitation will move out overnight and tomorrow will bring mainly cloudy conditions with scattered drizzle and moderate northwest winds.  Showers or drizzle may make an appearance downwind of the lakes, but nothing widespread is expected.

On Wednesday afternoon into the overnight period, areas close to the International border may see some showers spread north from a system moving through the Dakotas, however it seems to me that the models are underestimating the effect of the ridge that will be positioned across the central Prairies.  It’s likely that the dry outflow from the ridge will keep things cloudy instead of rainy over southern areas of the RRV.

The rest of the week looks quite nice with sunny skies through much of the RRV and temperatures climbing into the high teens.  There’s definitely a chance that Winnipeg will see temperatures over 20°C, however I’d currently bet on just high teens as the models tend to over-amplify upper ridges in 60+ hour forecasts.  A string of disturbances will trek across the Dakotas, and there is a slight chance that some precipitation will nudge into areas near the international border, but for the most part, expect the second half of the week to be warm and dry.

As one other note, it looks that from here out, overnight lows look to be in the 5-10°C range, which is good news for farmers in the RRV, many of whom were able to escape the frost which affected Winnipeg and areas north and west on Saturday night.  Drier, frost-free conditions are sure to be good news for many of the province’s farmers.