There’s no relief in sight for Winnipeg as bitter cold stays entrenched over the region this week.

Dangerously cold conditions will stay this week for the Prairies, including Winnipeg. Temperatures will be dangerous today with a high near -26 combining with westerly winds increasing to around 30 km/h. This will produce wind chill values of -45 to -50 this morning and -40 to -45 this afternoon. Temperatures will drop back towards -30 °C tonight.

Tuesday and Wednesday will offer a semblance of “relief” from the cold; the coldest core of temperatures will shift towards the Rockies and some modified Arctic air will move into Manitoba. It’s not going to be that much of a change though; tonight’s low rising to -29 °C is the start of it and Tuesday and Wednesday will both bring high around -23 °C.

Winds on Tuesday will again hover in the 20–30 km/h range, producing wind chills near -40 early Tuesday morning that climb only to around -35 in the afternoon. Wind chills dip back into the -35 to -40 range on Wednesday night before beginning to ease on Wednesday as the winds let up. The return of “pure” Arctic air will begin on Wednesday night, with lows dropping back below -30 °C.

Long Range Outlook

Bitterly cold temperatures persist through Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. By Sunday, a shift in the upper air pattern will begin to break down the entrenched lobe of the polar vortex over the region. It will start moving off to the east and milder temperatures will begin to move in. Below seasonal temperatures will continue through the first half of next week, but highs should climb into the -15 to -10 °C range with lows eventually rising above -20 °C.

Today’s seasonal daytime high in Winnipeg is -9 °C while the seasonal overnight low is -20 °C.

Temperatures will plummet in Winnipeg this weekend as bitterly cold Arctic air pushes across the Prairies.

Temperatures are all downhill from here as some of the coldest air on the continent begins moving into Manitoba. Extreme cold will develop over southern Manitoba in the coming days as daytime highs fall from -16 °C today to -26 °C by Sunday. Overnight lows will likewise plummet, dipping into the mid-minus 30s.

Extreme cold warnings from ECCC are a sure bet; widespread wind chills of -40 to -50 will develop over the southern Prairies this weekend. In the far northern Prairies, wind chill values may even drop into the -55 to -60 range by Sunday morning. This will be a brutally cold stretch of weather, bringing the coldest temperatures of the season so far to many parts of the Prairies.

As far as the other elements of the weather go, things will trend sunnier and calmer. Winnipeg will see mixed skies today with a good chance of a few flurries. Skies will gradually clear out tonight and tomorrow, leaving mainly sunny skies for Sunday. Northwest winds will persist in Winnipeg, easing from 30–40 km/h today into the 20–30 km/h range tomorrow. Winds will be light out of the west on Sunday.

Long Range Outlook

These brutally cold temperatures are the result of the Polar Vortex; a lobe has decoupled from the main vortex over the poles and will settle over Manitoba and parts of Northwestern Manitoba. Unfortunately, it means that improvement will be slow to come. The coldest temperatures will be this weekend into early next week, followed by a slight moderation for the rest of the week.

Through next week, temperatures will likely stay 5 to 10 °C below seasonal values with some cloudier conditions possible. A return to near-seasonal conditions will be possible the week after next.

Today’s seasonal daytime high in Winnipeg is -10 °C while the seasonal overnight low is -21 °C.

Extremely cold temperatures will stay entrenched over southern Manitoba through the first half of the week.

Winnipeg will see mainly cloudy skies today, supported by a weak inverted trough collapsing southwards into the United States. This cloud cover will bring a few flurries to the region, but most of it will stay south of Winnipeg. In the city, there will a chance for a bit of light snow, but mainly in the morning hours.

The cloud cover won’t help temperatures much. The main story over the coming days will be the bitter cold over the region. Temperatures won’t climb above -20 °C over the next two days, and only nudge above the mark on Wednesday. Overnight lows will be bitterly cold and dip below -30 °C both tonight and Tuesday night. Note that these overnight lows are difficult to forecast; there is a chance that temperatures could dip even colder than this, or stay a bit warmer. The difference in outcomes is subtle, but its worth noting that temperatures of -35 to -40 °C have occurred over western Manitoba into central and northern Saskatchewan. This is the air mass that will move into the Red River Valley today.

Extreme cold warnings will be likely as it does not take much wind to drive wind chills below -40 with these bitterly cold overnight lows.

Skies will clear out Monday night and stay mainly sunny right through Wednesday. Some cloud will begin working into the region late Wednesday as warmer air starts to move towards the province.

Long Range Outlook

The upper flow supporting the bitterly cold temperatures will collapse in the second half of the week. This will allow milder air to surge back across the Prairies and send temperatures back to seasonal or seasonably mild for the latter half of the week. Comparatively pleasant winter weather will persist through the weekend with a chance for a few centimetres of snow on Saturday.

Today’s seasonal daytime high in Winnipeg is -12 °C while the seasonal overnight low is -23 °C.