Seasonably Cool Weekend Gives Way to Warmer Weather Next Week

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Seasonably cool temperatures will stick around for Winnipeg this weekend — along with some unsettled weather — but a big warm up is on the way for next week.

ECMWF 24-hr. Precipitation Accumulation valid 00Z Sunday April 30, 2023
Showers will drop through Manitoba on Friday night into Saturday.

To wrap up the work week in Winnipeg, any morning fog will burn off as temperatures head to a high in the low teens for the afternoon. The region will see mixed skies today with light north-northwest winds.

The next disturbance to impact the region will begin moving in tonight. Skies will cloud up tonight with showers pushing into the Red River Valley from the northwest by morning. Temperatures will head to a low near 2 or 3 °C tonight.

Saturday will bring mostly cloudy conditions to the region with the chance for some sunny breaks in the afternoon. The most organized shower activity will move through the region in the morning, but much of the activity may end keeping west of Winnipeg. Temperatures will climb to a high near 10 °C as northerly winds pick up to around 20 km/h. A few pop-up showers will be possible in the afternoon in the unstable northerly flow that develops.

Skies will clear out on Saturday night with a northerly breeze. Temperatures will dip to a low again in the low single digits.

Sunday will bring partly cloudy skies to the region with a high in the low teens. It will be a breezier day with north winds picking up as high as 30 gusting 50 km/h. It’ll be a cool night on Sunday night with a low near the freezing mark.

Long Range Outlook

Heading into next week, a major pattern change will bring a substantial change to the weather across Manitoba. The cool temperatures of the last while have largely been due to a persistent upper-level vortex over Hudson Bay. Heading into next week, there’s high confidence that feature will finally collapse southwards into Ontario, then shunt eastwards and out of the region.

The upper-level pattern will then begin to reorganize itself over a few days, with the most prominent trend being a building upper ridge over western North America. As a result, by the end of the week, a well-formed upper ridge is forecast over much of the western United States, the Canadian Prairies, and central Arctic.

ECMWF 500mb Heights and Height Anomaly Forecast valid 18Z Wednesday May 3, 2023
A strengthening upper ridge (red shading) will build into western Canada and the Arctic by the middle of next week.

The end result of that will be that next week will see relatively little by way of precipitation and substantially warming temperatures. Daytime highs in southern Manitoba will likely climb into the 20s by Tuesday or Wednesday, followed by highs in the 15 to 25 °C range through the rest of the week.

So after one more weekend on the cool side of seasonal, some spring/early-summer warmth will arrive next week!

Today’s seasonal daytime high in Winnipeg is 15 °C while the seasonal overnight low is +2 °C.

Temperatures Creep Higher as Unsettled Conditions Develop

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Winnipeg’s temperatures will warm towards more seasonal values this week, but a few passing disturbances will bring cloudier conditions with a chance of rain.

ECMWF 24hr. Precipitation Accumulation valid 12Z Thursday April 27, 2023
An occluding low pressure system will bring a swath of rain to southern Manitoba on Wednesday.

The weather will turn more spring-like in Winnipeg this week as the northerly flow in place over the region breaks ahead of approaching Pacific disturbances. Daytime highs will immediately respond to this change with highs climbing up into the low teens today. The return to warmer weather will occur under sunny skies and light winds.

The unsettled conditions will arrive mid-week. Skies will cloud over tonight ahead of an approaching low as temperatures dip into the low single digits. On Wednesday, breezy southerly winds will develop, followed by a band of rain that pushes across the Red River Valley. Driven by an occluding low pressure system, the region could see as much as 5 to 10 mm of rain as it moves through. Temperatures will climb to a high near 10°C before cooling off once the rain begins. The rain will taper off by evening, but lingering showers will be possible through the night. The winds will ease Wednesday evening followed by temperatures down into the low single digits.

Cloudier conditions will linger for Thursday as another disturbance drops through the Prairies, but the organized rain with that system will stay further west. Winnipeg and the Red River Valley will see a diminishing chance of showers as the day wears on. Temperatures will again climb to a high near 10 °C with a high north wind picking up through the day.

Long Range Outlook

Some sun will begin to poke out from behind the clouds on Friday with light north winds continuing. Another passing disturbance could bring some flurries late Friday night changing to rain showers on Saturday morning. Daytime highs will hover around 10 °C right through the weekend with lows in the 0 to 5 °C range.

Next week should bring sunnier skies and temperatures finally beginning to climb back to seasonal highs in the mid-teens.

Today’s seasonal daytime high in Winnipeg is 14 °C while the seasonal overnight low is +1 °C.

Snow Gives Way to Sunny but Cool Weekend

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Snow will come to an end over the region today as the storm that’s been stalled over the region finally moves east. Sunnier skies will return for the weekend as a high pressure system settles over the province.

RDPS MLSP & 10m Wind Forecast valid 18Z Saturday April 22, 2023
A broad area of high pressure will settle across the eastern Prairies this weekend.

Snow continues to wrap into southern Manitoba this morning, but conditions will improve through the day. As the low responsible for our weather continues to trundle eastwards into Ontario, snow gradually weaken and taper off over southern Manitoba. It will be a bit of a slick and slippery morning as temperatures dip below zero and combine with fairly strong northerly winds near 50 gusting 70 km/h.

Temperatures will rebound to a high of only around +2 °C.

Skies will clear out tonight as winds ease to around 20 km/h. Temperatures will dip to a low in the mid-minus single digits.

For th weekend, a ridge of high pressure will build into the region and bring cool but settled conditions. Winnipeg and area will see variable cloudiness through the weekend with daytime highs in the mid- to upper-single digits. Overnight lows will likely dip into the -5 to -10 °C range.

Long Range Outlook

Next week will start off with quieter weather as temperatures gradually move towards more seasonal values. Some rain may be possible across the region late next week.

Today’s seasonal daytime high in Winnipeg is 13 °C while the seasonal overnight low is 0 °C.

Slow-Moving Disturbance to Bring Spring Storm to Southern Manitoba

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A slow-moving upper-level disturbance will bring cooler temperatures and plenty of snow to parts of southern Manitoba this week.

GDPS 500mb Height and Wind Forecast valid 00Z Thursday April 20, 2023
A potent, slow-moving upper low will bring a multi-day snowfall event to southern Manitoba.

Winnipeg and area will see a relatively pleasant spring day today as a ridge of high pressure continues to sit over the region. Temperatures will climb up to around the 10 °C mark this afternoon with increasing easterly winds towards evening.

A large upper-level disturbance will begin working into the region tonight. It will spread precipitation through Saskatchewan today, reaching SW Manitoba by the evening. This system may start as a wintery mix in Saskatchewan today, but will trend towards primarily a snow-maker as it moves into Manitoba.

This system will produce significant amounts of snowfall over southeast Saskatchewan into parts of SW and Parkland Manitoba. By Wednesday morning, 5–10 cm of snow will have likely fallen across those regions with another 10–20 cm through the day Wednesday. On Wednesday night, another 5–10 cm will fall across those areas, with higher possible along the escarpment west of Lake Manitoba and Lake Winnipegosis. The snow will gradually come to an end in those areas on Thursday, with accumulations ranging from a couple centimetres to as much as another 5–10 cm.

Further east in Winnipeg and much of the Red River Valley, snow should push through the area in multiple waves. Some light snow or rain showers are possible later today, but copious amounts of dry air near the surface will likely evaporate much of that activity before it reaches the ground.

The first organized wave of snow will push into the region on Wednesday morning, moving northwards through the day. This will drop 2–5 cm across much of the Red River Valley on Wednesday, though amounts may increase quickly close to the western escarpment. Some periods of light snow are possible on Thursday, though much of the organized activity will likely remain to the west.

A more organized band of accumulating snow will push towards Winnipeg on Thursday evening as another wave of moisture wraps into the system impacting the area. This could bring Winnipeg’s heaviest snowfall of the event with the potential of anywhere from 5 to 15 cm of snow.

Throughout this entire disturbance, moderate easterly winds will slowly shift northerly over the course of the week, and temperatures will struggle to climb only  at most to a few degrees above freezing. There is a slight chance that precipitation could briefly change over to rain, particularly for areas south of Winnipeg, if a bit of warmer air can wrap into this system at times.

Keep alert for updated watches or warnings from the Meteorological Service of Canada.

The last note for this system is that in many areas, snow will fall with temperatures close to 0 °C. As a result, some may melt and much of the snow will be relatively heavy and prone to compaction. This may make measurable snow on the ground at the end of the event less than what actually fell.

Long Range Outlook

This system will finally begin to clear out of the region on Friday, followed by a couple days of seasonably cool temperatures.

A return to seasonal warmth with highs in the low teens should build into the region early next week.

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