This week will be a bit of a meteorological roller coaster as our temperatures climb up, then fall rapidly back down again.
Monday looks to be the warmest day of the week with above freezing temperature of 1 or 2C expected in Southern Manitoba. Some light rainfall is expected in south-eastern parts of the province out ahead of a cold front. This may lead to icy conditions on Monday night as temperatures drop below zero behind the front. Winnipeg will be right on the edge of this area of rain, so the city isn’t expected to see more than a millimetre or two of rain at most. In fact most models take the area of rain just south-east of Winnipeg, so the northern part of the Red River Valley may end up with no precipitation at all. Temperatures will plummet on Monday night in the wake of the cold front with values dipping down into the minus double digits by Tuesday morning.
High temperatures will remain down in the minus teens in Southern Manitoba on Wednesday, with most areas in the -11 to -14C range. A weather system emerging from the mountains in Alberta will develop a southerly flow over Manitoba on Tuesday night. As a result, Tuesday night will be characterized by increasing warm air advection, allowing for warmer air to filter into Southern Manitoba during the overnight period. We will continue to experience warming on Wednesday as a stiff south wind continues to bring in warmer air. Unfortunately, the wind will be very strong, making conditions much less comfortable than the temperature alone would indicate. Highs on Wednesday will be in the low to mid minus single digits in Southern Manitoba, but wind chills values will be in the -10 to -15 range due to the strong south wind.
Another cold front will move through on Wednesday night or Thursday, setting up a chilly end to the week. No significant precipitation is currently in the forecast for Southern Manitoba this week as the main storm track remains to our north and west.
