Temperatures will warm into the teens this week as Spring warmth continues to build across the Prairies.
Mild temperatures will build eastwards across the Prairies this week.
A lingering low pressure system will gradually clear out of the region today, but it will leave lingering cloud cover across the region. A few light rain showers or flurries are possible today as temperatures head to a high in the low single digits with northerly winds near 30 km/h. With a ridge of high pressure moving in tonight, the winds will drop off with clearing skies and a low near -5 °C.
A stagnant pattern will develop for the rest of the week, rooted by a low complex anchored over the American Rockies. Manitoba will be on the eastern edge of this system with warm air slowly edging eastwards as the high in the area inches eastwards.
The result will be many sunny or partly cloudy days for the rest of the week with daytime highs near 10 °C on Wednesday increasing into the 10 to 15 °C range for the rest of the week. Overnight lows will dip to around the freezing mark right through the end of the week.
Long Range Outlook
There will be little change for the weekend and the start of next week. Mild weather will continue across southern Manitoba with highs in the mid-teens and overnight lows in the 0 to 5 °C range. The next organized chance of rain doesn’t look like it will come until at least mid-week next week.
It appears that the last of winter will be melted away this week and the dry, dusty spring weather can commence! Time to get the shorts out?
Today’s seasonal daytime high in Winnipeg is +6 °C while the seasonal overnight low is -6 °C.
With daytime highs above freezing through the rest of the week, Winnipeg will see cloudier conditions develop as the snowpack across the region undergoes significant melt.
Mild temperatures with daytime highs above freezing will be commonplace across the southern Prairies this week.
Warm Pacific air will sweep across the Prairies this week as upper ridging gradually dominates the upper air pattern over the coming days. As a result, Winnipeg will see daytime highs that climb above freezing throughout the work week.
It won’t all be sunshine though; a cold front dipped southwards overnight and another frontal boundary will slowly drop southwards through the province over the coming days. This will bring cloudier skies to the region with daytime highs in the +1 to +4°C range. Dew point values are expected to climb above freezing both today and tomorrow which will aid in the melting and erosion of the snow pack. Overnight lows will dip into the -5 to 0 °C range over the next several nights.
A weak disturbance will bring light snow to southwest Manitoba on Wednesday; while there may be a chance of flurries in Winnipeg, the system is likely to fall apart west of the Red River Valley.
As the melt continues through the week and the cloud lingers across the region, the chance of seeing fog patches or mist will increase. Northerly winds will pick up in the second half of the week which should help clear out any lingering moisture in the air.
Long Range Outlook
The next system of note will be a low pressure system dropping southeastwards through Manitoba on Friday. This system could bring a mix of rain and snow to the Red River Valley, though current indications are that it should pull enough warm air eastwards that most of the precipitation would be rain.
A low pressure system moving through Manitoba on Friday will bring a mix of rain and snow to the province.
This system could bring rain amounts ranging from a trace to the 5–10 mm range across the Red River Valley. With a cold front swinging through on Friday night, it would leave behind cooler weather with a chance of flurries into the weekend.
Today’s seasonal daytime high in Winnipeg is -2 °C while the seasonal overnight low is -12 °C.
It will be a warm week in Winnipeg with seasonably warm temperatures continuing.
Temperatures will climb back above freezing on Thursday, but a strong cold front will move through later in the day.
Sorry that we’re a day late, but fortunately, the weather’s a broken record these days and we didn’t miss much. The weather through the rest of the work week will be driven by a low pressure system moving through northern Manitoba over the next 24 to 48 hours. As it moves into the province today, more warm air will spread into southern Manitoba. This will bring cloudier skies to Winnipeg and area as temperatures climb to a high close to the freezing mark this afternoon. The cloud cover will break up tonight as westerly winds pick up and temperatures fall to a low in the -10 to -5 °C range.
On Thursday, with Winnipeg firmly in the warm sector of this system temperatures will quickly climb to a high just above freezing before a cold front sweeps through later in the afternoon. The cold front will bring some cloud and a chance of flurries to the region as it moves through, along with northerly winds to around 30 gusting 50 km/h. Skies will clear quickly behind the front as an Arctic high drops southwards through the province. Temperatures will head to a low in the -20 to -15 °C range with light winds on Thursday night.
For Friday, the region will see near-seasonal temperatures with a high near -7 °C under mainly sunny skies. Southerly winds will strengthen through the day in the return flow from the departing high. Another low pressure system tracking through the north will be pushing a warm front eastwards into the province through the day. By Friday evening, the warm front will likely be draped through western Manitoba; it will continue to push eastwards through the night, bringing more cloud to the Red River Valley but keeping overnight lows mild near -10 °C.
Long Range Outlook
Winnipeg will move into the warm sector of this second low pressure system on Saturday. The warmer air mass should combine with moderate westerly winds to help send daytime highs well above freezing; Winnipeg will likely see temperatures climb into the 5 to 10 °C range on Saturday afternoon.
The warmest air will move out of the region on Saturday night, but it will stay mild across the region. Sunday should bring daytime highs closer to 0 °C to the region.
Next week wills tart warm, but a strong cold front is forecast to move through on Tuesday. This would usher an Arctic air mass back into the Prairies and send temperatures tack to below-seasonal values for a couple days. That said, the cold snap is expected to be short with milder weather returning by the end of the week.
Today’s seasonal daytime high in Winnipeg is -7 °C while the seasonal overnight low is -17 °C.
Cloudy skies, mist/fog, drizzle, and mild temperatures will continue for a couple more days in the Winnipeg area. The weather will finally change across southern Manitoba on Wednesday night as a Colorado Low begins to spread waves of precipitation into the province.
Waves of mixed precipitation will move into southern Manitoba on Thursday. This Colorado Low will bring accumulating snow to most of southern Manitoba.
The next couple days in Winnipeg will bring more of what the city has seen lately: plenty of cloud, mist and fog patches, and occasional drizzle. A ridge of high pressure moving across the Red River Valley will keep things stagnant with light northerly winds. The trend of temperatures well above normal will continue with highs a couple degrees above freezing and lows right near the freezing point.
Then, the most notable weather system in weeks will begin to impact the region on Wednesday night. As I mentioned in Thursday’s post, long-range models were developing a Colorado Low-like system and pushing it quickly eastwards. I mentioned that I wouldn’t be surprised to see this system pull further west as it approached and…that’s what has happened with the forecast models over the past few days.
A Colorado Low will eject northeastwards on Wednesday, reaching South Dakota by Thursday morning and then into Minnesota by Thursday evening. As it draws closer to Manitoba, it will begin to spread waves of precipitation into the province. The first couple waves, arriving Wednesday night and Thursday morning could bring a wintery mix of snow, rain, and freezing rain to the Red River Valley. As those move off to the northwest, the region will see a break with cloudy skies and a chance of drizzle.
By later Thursday, northerly winds will strengthen across the region and begin to draw cooler air into the region. More snow will be possible Thursday evening through much of Friday before it finally tapers off.
There is a wide range of snowfall accumulations possible with this system, and at this point there is significant uncertainty as to where the axis of heaviest snow will set up in the province. In general, many areas of the province will receive 5 to 10 cm of fresh snow, with 10 to 20 cm possible in the swath of highest accumulation. Amounts could creep even higher on the northern slopes of the Turtle and Riding Mountains where northerly winds enhance the snowfall along the terrain.
With the notable uncertainty that remains with how this system will set up over the province, I recommend you check the updated forecasts on ECCC’s weather website over the coming days.
Daytime highs in Winnipeg will fall into the -5 to 0 °C range by the end of the week with overnight lows in the -20 to -10 °C range depending on how much clearing is able to move into the region.
Long Range Outlook
The weekend will bring cooler — but still above normal — temperatures to the region. Daytime highs will dip to around -5 °C with lows dependent on how cloudy the nights stay. With clearing, lows could drop into the -20 to -15 °C range, but if it stays cloudier then lows could hover near -10 °C.
Hopefully the region will see a bit of sun this weekend, but there’s a chance things do stay on the cloudier side.
Next week will continue the trend with daytime highs near -5 °C and overnight lows in the -10 to -20 °C range as light westerly winds develop over the region.
Today’s seasonal daytime high in Winnipeg is -10 °C while the seasonal overnight low is -21 °C.
