A Weather Moment

Mild temperatures continue across the Red River Valley, but Winnipeg will see accumulating snow Wednesday evening.

Winnipeg will see temperatures climb to a high near 0°C again today with southeasterly winds increasing to 30 gusting 50 km/h. The city will see variable cloudiness through the morning, then skies will cloud over through the afternoon hours as a low pressure system arrives. Snow will spread into Winnipeg and the northern Red River Valley later this afternoon. Winds will ease in the evening as the low centre moves through, then pick up out of the northwest overnight. By Thursday morning, Winnipeg will see 5 to 10 cm of new snow with northwest winds up to 30 km/h. Temperatures will dip to a low near -5°C tonight. The accumulating snow will taper off overnight.

On Thursday, skies will clear out through the day as the low exits the province. Moderate northwesterly winds in the 30 to 40 km/h range will stick around for the day, then ease in the evening. Winnipeg will see a near-seasonal high of -3°C. Mixed skies will develop overnight as winds shift to the south at 10 to 20 km/h. Lows should dip to about -12°C.

On Friday, another low pushing towards the region will generate strong southerly winds in the Red River Valley. Winds will strengthen into the 40 to 50 km/h range by midday as temperatures climb to a high near 0°C.

It looks like Winnipeg will see a fair amount of cloud, but some sunny breaks are likely. The wind will gradually ease on Friday night as temperatures head to a low near -3°C. Skies will stay mostly cloudy through the night.

Long Range Outlook

Mild weather will continue into the weekend with highs at or above freezing on Saturday. A fairly expansive low pressure system will spread snow across the southern Prairies on Saturday, pushing into Manitoba on Saturday night through Sunday. Winnipeg will likely see some snow from this system, but it’s unclear right now exactly how much the city will receive.

Model forecasts suggest that the heaviest snow will be well north of the city, falling from WestMan eastwards across the Interlake and onwards to the Ontario border. If this were the case, Winnipeg would see somewhere around 2 to 5 cm of snow from this system. That said, small changes in the track of this system, north or south, could significantly change the amount of snow the city receives. We’ll take a closer look at this system’s snowfall potential in Friday’s forecast!

Today’s seasonal daytime high in Winnipeg is -4°C while the seasonal overnight low is -15°C.

Warm weather continues in Winnipeg, but the city will see occasional snow over the coming days.

A relatively zonal flow across the Canadian Prairies will persist over the coming days, keeping temperatures seasonably mild with the cost of frequent disturbances moving through. In Winnipeg, this means that while the city will continue to see highs near the freezing mark, there will be a fair amount of cloud and several chances for snow.

Today, the city will see increasing cloud as a low pressure system moves into the province from the northwest. Winds will strengthen out of the south to around 40 km/h by midday as cloud thickens up and light snow slowly pushes into the Red River Valley. Winds will ease this evening and then shift west-northwest and increase to 30 gusting 50 km/h overnight. The light snow will taper off through the night with accumulations of 1 to 2 cm. Temperatures will dip to a low near -4°C with a continued chance of flurries overnight.

On Tuesday, a weak ridge of high pressure will move across the province. The cloud cover will gradually break up through the day as temperatures climb to a high near -1°C. The city may see some flurries through the morning hours. Winnipeg will see north-westerly winds through the day of around 20 km/h that ease to light in the evening. Temperatures will dip to a low near -11°C on Tuesday night with partly cloudy skies.

Skies will cloud over again on Wednesday as the next low pressure system moves into the province. Winds will pick up out of the south into the 30 to 40 km/h range as the low approaches the region. Temperatures will climb to a high near 0°C with light snow beginning in the afternoon. The city will see periods of snow on Wednesday night with winds turning southwest then gradually westwards.

Model forecasts diverge and show the heaviest snow occurring either just north of Winnipeg or just south of the city. Regardless of the track, it looks like up to 10 to 15 cm may be possible. At the moment, solutions generally agree with 2 to 5 cm of snow in Winnipeg by Thursday morning. That said, we’ll track this system as it develops and monitor the trend on the track for the heaviest snow. Depending on the track, Winnipeg could end up seeing heavy snow on Wednesday night.

In addition to the snow, there will also be a risk of some freezing rain across the region, particularly from the late afternoon until around midnight. Temperatures will fall to a low near -2°C.

Long Range Outlook

Winnipeg will see mild but windy conditions on Thursday as temperatures return to the freezing mark with moderate to strong northwest winds. The rest of the week looks to continue mild with breezy conditions reappearing for Friday (southerlies) and Sunday (northerlies). Occasional flurries are possible, but it looks like there’s no organized snow chances until the second half of the weekend into the new work week.

Today’s seasonal daytime high in Winnipeg is -5°C while the seasonal overnight low is -15°C.