Strong winds will blast across Southern Manitoba today as a very powerful low pressure system crosses Northern Manitoba. The winds will also usher in an unseasonably cool air mass that will give us a very chilly night before the upper ridge begins to rebound into our region.
A powerful low pressure system with a central pressure of approximately 984mb is pushing across Northern Manitoba and will bring a very strong pressure gradient across the Red River Valley today that will usher in 50-60km/h winds with gusts as high as 80km/h. This system has a history of producing very strong winds; on Monday it brought widespread winds in excess of 100km/h to Southern Alberta and yesterday it brought winds between 80-110km/h through Saskatchewan and Northern Manitoba.
The winds will pick up in the Red River Valley this morning and we’ll see several hours of fairly strong westerly winds. Unlike regions to our west that had to deal with the winds for a fairly prolonged period of time, the winds will move through the region fairly quickly as the low accelerates out of Northern Manitoba into Hudson Bay. As a result, winds should let up noticeably by the evening.
In behind this system, fairly cold air will sweep across the province. Across the Red River Valley, overnight lows will be kept a little warmer by some light winds expected to continue through the night. Through the Red River Valley, overnight lows will generally drop to 3-5°C tonight, however if any areas see the wind let up, it would certainly be possible to see overnight lows dip to 1-2°C under clear skies and calm winds. The most likely area for this to happen, though, is a little further east in the Whiteshell where the trees will help protect the surface from light synoptic winds.
Temperatures will return to seasonal on Thursday as an upper ridge begins to build eastwards across the Prairies. We’ll see a mix of sun and cloud across the Red River Valley with a very slight chance of a shower as warmer air begins to push into the region. Daytime highs should be near 19-20°C on Thursday with overnight lows on Thursday night once again rather chilly in the 4-6°C.
Warm air moves back in for the weekend, with plenty of sunshine and highs near 25°C on Friday and Saturday. Things look to cool off a bit on Sunday as another cold front passes through.
