Seasonably Mild Weather Lasts Into The Weekend

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More sunshine and mild temperatures are on the way for Winnipeg as the spring melt continues.

A strong upper-level ridge moving into the province will provide plenty of warm weather for Winnipeg over the coming days. With high pressure aloft and at the surface, the city will also see plenty of sunshine and fairly light winds.

Today will start off with light northwesterly winds diminishing midday as a ridge of high pressure. Under partly cloudy skies, the city will see temperatures climb to a high near +2°C. Winds will pick up out of the southwest overnight to around 20 km/h ahead of a warm front pushing through the region. Temperatures will dip to a low near -1°C.

Thursday will bring mostly sunny conditions to the region with winds shifting northwesterly in the morning. Winnipeg will see a high near +3°C, although any areas where the snow pack is thinning out may see temperatures a couple degrees warmer than that. The winds will ease Thursday evening as a high pressure system pushes into the province. Temperatures will dip to a low near -5°C on Thursday night.

Friday will bring Winnipeg similar weather to Thursday. The city will see mostly sunny skies, light southerly winds, and a high near +4°C. Temperatures will dip down to around -3°C on Friday night.

Long Range Outlook

The mild weather will continue into Saturday. Forecasts show a weak cold front pushing through for Sunday, bringing a chance of rain showers or snow flurries as it passes and returning temperatures to seasonal values for Sunday. The city should still see a fair amount of sunshine on each side of the front, though!

Today’s seasonal daytime high in Winnipeg is +1°C while the seasonal overnight low is -10°C.

RDPS 2m Temperature Forecast Valid 21Z Tuesday March 19, 2019

Spring Melt Continues This Week in Winnipeg

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Seasonably mild temperatures will continue this week in Winnipeg, continuing a slow and steady spring melt across the region.

A potent upper-level ridge building into the Prairies will send another push of warm air across the region. A weak disturbance will push a warm front through the region today, bringing Winnipeg plenty of cloud cover. That same front will bring the city a chance for some afternoon flurries. Temperatures will climb to a high near +1°C with winds out of the south near 20 km/h. Skies will stay mostly cloudy tonight with a low near -4°C and light winds.

Tuesday will bring mostly cloudy skies to the region with westerly winds climbing into the 20 to 30 km/h range. Winnipeg will see a high near +3°C. The cloud cover should breaking up in the evening as temperatures head to a low near -3°C. Those westerly winds will ease overnight.

On Wednesday, weather systems finally leave the region alone with just a weak surface ridge1 working into western Manitoba. This will give Winnipeg light westerly winds with temperatures climbing to a high near +3 or +4°C. The city will see mixed skies, which means it will be the first day of the next few to offer the potential for lots of sunshine. If the sun does make an appearance, it will likely result in a large range of temperatures across the city. The high of +3°C is for the weather station at the airport, which is in the middle of a snow-covered field. Areas of the city that have more buildings, or have much of the snow cleared and/or melted already will likely see temperatures climb higher, potentially up to +7 or +8°C.

Temperatures will head to a low near -2°C on Wednesday night with clearing skies.

Long Range Outlook

The rest of the week is looking great; the upper ridge will bring benign weather to the region! Winnipeg can expect a fair amount of sunshine, light southerly winds, and daytime highs in the +4 to 8°C range!

This also means that milder temperatures will spread south of the border. The region will be moving into the spring flood season over the next couple weeks. As it does, flood water will begin weakening ice cover on rivers and lakes. Remember to exercise caution around frozen waterways.

Today’s seasonal daytime high in Winnipeg is 0°C while the seasonal overnight low is -11°C.

  1. Not to be confused with the upper-level ridge moving into the region! ↩

Weather Calms Down With Near-Seasonal Temperatures

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After dodging much of yesterday’s storm, Winnipeg will see a relatively pleasant weekend with near-seasonal temperatures.

Winnipeg will settle back into a benign weather pattern in the wake of the major winter storm that clipped the southeastern corner of the province. Today will bring the most sunshine of the next few days, but temperatures will be the coolest. The city will see northwesterly winds near 30 km/h this morning, but they will diminish this afternoon as a ridge of high pressure arrives. Temperatures will reach a seasonably cool high near -5°C. The city should see mostly clear skies tonight with temperatures heading to a low near -16°C.

Saturday will bring increasing cloud to the region as a weak warm front pushes eastwards towards the Red River Valley. Temperatures will be a bit warmer with a high near -1°C with light southerly winds developing. There will be a slight chance of some snow flurries later in the day as the warm front pushes through. Mostly cloudy skies will continue Saturday night as the temperature dips to a low near -6°C.

Temperatures will cimb to near the freezing mark across much of southern Manitoba on Saturday.

Winnipeg will continue to see mostly cloudy skies on Sunday as more warm air slowly pushes eastwards into the Prairies. The city should see a high near +1°C with light winds. Sunday night is forecast to bring mixed skies and a low near -6°C.

Long Range Outlook

Long-range forecasts show significant confidence in a large upper-level ridge gradually building into the Prairies. This would bring a quiet week weather-wise with variable cloudiness and temperatures gradually warming. It looks likely that next week will result in a notable amount of melt as it progresses.

Today’s seasonal daytime high in Winnipeg is -1°C while the seasonal overnight low is -11°C.

Another Colorado Low To Bring More Snow, Wind to Southern Manitoba

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Snowy and windy conditions will develop tonight across parts of southern Manitoba as a potent winter storm pushes northeastwards through the American Plains.

Winnipeg will start the day today with cloudy skies and a few fog patches. It won’t last too long though; skies will clear early this morning and temperatures will climb to a high near 0°C. More cloud will push in later this afternoon as the Colorado Low lifts northwards through the United States. By evening, snow will begin lifting through the Red River Valley into the southeastern corner of the province. As this happens, winds will strengthen out of the north, reaching 40 gusting 60 km/h by Thursday morning.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, snowfall amounts will be tricky as once again as snow will quickly taper off on the northwestern side of this system. Right now it looks like that line will run roughly through Winnipeg, with amounts quickly dropping off to nothing northwest of the city and increasing to ≥ 10 cm to the southeast. That said, if this line shifts in either direction by even 20-30 km, that could be the difference between no snow or 10 cm of snow. Right now it appears that the city will get around 2-5 cm of snow by the time it tapers off, but we’ll keep an eye on things in case this system trends westwards.

  • NAM 24hr. Accumulated Snowfall Forecast valid 00Z Friday March 15, 2019
    The American NAM model keeps almost all of the snow southeast of Winnipeg.
  • RDPS 24hr. Accumulated Snowfall Forecast valid 00Z Friday March 15, 2019
    The Canadian RDPS model brings almost 10 cm of snow to Winnipeg.

Temperatures will remain steady near -2°C on Thursday with northerly winds continuing at 40 to 50 km/h. Blowing snow shouldn’t be too much of an issue, except for the southeastern Red River Valley. In that area, moderate snow will combine with the strong winds to produce poor visibilities in snow and blowing snow. In Winnipeg, any remaining snow should taper off mid-morning but skies will remain cloudy through the day. The wind will ease through the evening to around 20 km/h. The clouds should break up a bit overnight as temperatures head to a low near -8°C.

Friday will bring mixed to mostly cloudy skies as some morning sunshine gives way to afternoon cloud. Temperatures should reach a high near -4°C and winds will remain out of the northwest at about 20 km/h. Cloudy skies should remain in place Friday night with a low near -13°C.

Long Range Outlook

The weekend looks pleasant with temperatures returning 0°C, variable cloudiness, and light winds. Daytime highs will continue to climb into the low single digits next week.

Today’s seasonal daytime high in Winnipeg is -1°C while the seasonal overnight low is -11°C.