Winnipeg will start the week with some of the coldest temperatures so far this winter. Fortunately, the cold weather will be short lived with milder Pacific air returning for the second half of the work week.

An Arctic high will bring Winnipeg an outbreak of bitterly cold temperatures to start the week. The city will see well below-normal temperatures today as the high struggles to reach -24°C. Breezy northerly winds of 20 to 30 km/h will be in place this morning, which will combine with the cold temperatures to produce wind chill values in the -40 to -45 range.¹ Those northerly winds will persist through much of the day, keeping wind chill values in the -35 to -40 range through much of the day. The wind will ease in the evening as temperature drop to the coldest so far this season. By early Tuesday morning, Winnipeg’s temperature is forecast to drop to about -31°C.

Winnipeg will continue to see sunny skies on Tuesday. Temperatures will warm slightly from Monday with a high near -21°C in Winnipeg. The wind will make things uncomfortable as it picks up out of the south into the 30 to 40 km/h range. This will once again produce wind chill values in the mid-minus thirties. The wind will continue overnight as temperatures will rise to around -17°C with increasing cloud.

Near-seasonal temperatures will return to Winnipeg on Wednesday. With southerly winds near 20 km/h, temperatures will climb to a high near -8°C. Skies will remain mixed with a small chance of some light snow. Temperatures will continue to rise on Wednesday night as the wind shifts westerly. By Thursday morning, the temperature in Winnipeg should sit near -4°C.

Long Range Outlook

The remainder of the work week will bring mild temperatures and a fair amount of cloud cover. The weekend may bring some sun for Saturday, but on Sunday it looks like temperatures will return towards seasonal as a cold front brings clouds and flurries to the region.

Winnipeg’s seasonal daytime high is currently -13°C while the seasonal overnight low is -23°C.

1. Environment and Climate Change Canada issued an extreme cold warning for this yesterday afternoon. ↩