Tag: Flurries

March Woes Continue

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There aren’t too many positive things one can say about this March so far. It’s been cold, it’s been snowy, and there’s still a week of it left. Unfortunately for us, this March will end just as it started – like a lion.

Monday will see more cold weather in southern Manitoba
Monday will see more cold weather in southern Manitoba

Monday

Monday
-10°C / -24°C
Increasing Cloudiness. Chance of Flurries.

Today will see the continuation of well below normal weather. This morning’s lows were more akin to January than March and today’s highs will be similar to the normal lows for this time of year. That is to say we’ll see highs near the -10C mark, with this morning’s lows having been in the -20s. If the cold wasn’t bad enough, we may even see a bit of snow along a cold front today – just what you were hoping for I’m sure. This cold front will usher in some gusty north-west winds too, so any snow that does fall will be sure to blow around a bit.

Tuesday

Tuesday
-11°C / -20°C
Mainly Sunny

Tuesday will be similar Monday temperature-wise with temperatures once again well below normal. It will be a bit less windy than Monday however, with little threat for snow, which will make it slightly nicer day overall.

Wednesday

Wednesday
-6°C / -10°C
Flurries possible

Wednesday looks to be one of the warmest days this week, with highs in the mid single digits. This warmer air will be brought north by a low pressure system passing to our south. This low pressure system may even bring some snow to southern Manitoba, but it’s too early to say.

Long Range

The long range forecast continues to look abominable. Long range models continue to strongly suggest that below-normal weather will last at least through the end of March. At this point we can only hope that April will see some improvement.

Unseasonably Cool Weather Returns

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After enjoying a few days with daytime highs near the seasonal 0°C for this time of year, cooler weather is on its way to Southern Manitoba by the end of the week as a late-week disturbance ushers in cooler air as a northwesterly flow returns.

A low pressure system passing through the Northern Plains on Friday will usher in northwesterly winds and cooler weather.
A low pressure system passing through the Northern Plains on Friday will usher in northwesterly winds and cooler weather.

Fortunately, seasonal weather is on tap for the next couple days with little in the way of weather expected. Today will be pleasant with a high near 0°C under mixed skies. Winds will remain calm through the day. Skies will gradually clear tonight as some drier air works into the Red River Valley from the west. Temperatures will drop to around -8 or -9°C.

Thursday will be a pleasant day with cloudier skies and a high near 0°C once again. Winds will be light out of the east. The cloud cover is thanks to an incoming low pressure system that will track out of Southern Alberta into the Northern Plains of the United States and eastwards towards the Great Lakes. At this point, no precipitation is expected through the daytime on Thursday.

Wednesday
0°C / -8°C
Mixed skies.

Thursday
0°C / -10°C
Mostly cloudy. Chance of flurries in the evening & overnight.

Friday
-9°C / -24°C
Mainly sunny and windy.

Colder Weather Arrives Thursday Night

Thursday night will bring a chance for some flurry activity as a cold front slumps through the region. It looks like any snow that occurs will be relatively disorganized and not particularly intense, so no significant snowfall accumulations are expected. Winds will increase to around 20km/h out of the north by the end of the night as temperatures drop to around -9 or -10°C.

The northerly winds will continue on Friday, increasing out of the northwest to around 30-40km/h, marking the arrival of significantly cooler air to the Red River Valley. Temperatures will stay steady or recover only slightly under mostly sunny skies. Winds look to taper off Friday night with the temperature dropping to an overnight low of around -24°C.

Cool Outlook

The NAEFS continues to forecast a high probability of below-normal temperatures in Southern Manitoba.
The NAEFS continues to forecast a high probability of below-normal temperatures in Southern Manitoba.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like the cold air is going to go anywhere quickly. Cold air will be entrenched through the weekend giving us daytime highs 10-15°C below normal. By the beginning of next week, the coldest air will shift off into Ontario, however cool air will still remain leaving us around 5-10°C below normal.

The below-normal temperatures are forecast to stick around through most of the rest of March. I suppose we can all take solace that below-normal temperatures in March aren’t nearly as cold as below-normal temperatures in January.

Incoming Mild Air Brings Unsettled Weather

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A textbook frontal passage is in store for the Red River Valley over the next few days as an incoming warm front brings a chance of flurries and another mild day before the cold front slumps through the region at week’s end, bringing another windy chance for snow.

Wednesday
-10°C / ⇑ -3°C
Cloudy, light flurries starting midday.

Thursday
+4°C / -7°C
Warm with mixed skies. Windy with flurries overnight.

Friday
-6°C / -20°C
Chance of early morning flurries, otherwise mainly sunny.

We’re off to a cold start this morning, but temperatures will soar today as a strong warm front pushes across the Red River Valley. Southerly winds will pick up through the day to around 30-40km/h by mid-afternoon. There will be a chance of flurries beginning midday and lasting through the early evening. No significant accumulations are expected and thanks the warming temperatures and recent melting, blowing snow should be minimal. Temperatures will climb to around -10°C by evening but continue rising through the overnight period to nearly -2°C by Thursday morning.

Mild air is set to push into Southern Manitoba again on Thursday.
Mild air is set to push into Southern Manitoba again on Thursday.

Thursday will be another beautiful day very reminiscent of Monday this week. Winnipeg will see relatively light winds and mixed skies as the temperature climbs all the way to 4°C. Similar to Monday, there will probably be significant variation across the city with some places climbing several degrees higher to 7-8°C.

Things will take a less pleasant turn on Thursday night when a cold front slices through Southern Manitoba. Gusty winds out of the northwest to 40km/h will accompany some flurry activity that will spread into the Red River Valley from north to south through the mid-to-late evening hours. The wind and any straggling flurries should taper off early Friday morning.

Friday sees an Arctic ridge of high pressure building into Manitoba bringing cooler temperatures with it. In Winnipeg, temperatures will be some 10°C cooler than Thursday with a daytime high only near -7 or -6°C under mainly sunny skies.. Winds will remain light and the temperature will drop close to -20°C on Friday night.

Cool Weekend Ahead

Temperatures will remain well below normal through the weekend in the Red River Valley. Saturday’s high looks to be near -15°C under mainly sunny skies while Sunday sees the coldest axis of air shifting off to the east, allowing temperatures to climb to the low minus single digits with a few cloudy periods.

In the southwest corner of the province, flurries will be possible numerous times over the next 5 days as the main frontal zone sets up across the region and weak disturbances ripple along it.

Warmer for Awhile

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We’ll continue to see warm weather persist this week, but our snow won’t be disappearing any time soon.

Warm air will move across the Prairies on Monday
Warm air will move across the Prairies on Monday

Monday

Monday
3°C / -10°C
Mix of Sun and Cloud

Today will be one of the warmest days this week. High temperatures will edge above zero as a brisk westerly wind allows Pacific air to pour into Manitoba. Naturally, there will be some melting today, but it will do little to dent the massive snowpack in the region.

Tuesday

Tuesday
-7°C / -17°C
Mainly Cloudy. Chance of Flurries.

A high pressure system will slide down from the arctic on Tuesday, bringing a temporary return of chiller weather. It won’t be cold by any means, but it will be cool enough to halt the snow melt. There may be a few flurries around due to the presence of low cloud.

Wednesday

Wednesday
-2°C / -4°C
Mainly Cloudy

A strong southerly flow will develop in southern Manitoba on Wednesday, signaling a return to warmer conditions. Wednesday will be a fairly mild day, but those gusty south winds will make it feel quite a bit cooler than it would otherwise seem.

Long Range

The long range forecast is somewhat ambiguous at this point. Long-range weather prediction models are struggling to figure out what type of weather we’ll see for the rest of March. It appears the most likely outcome is an up and down pattern, with periods of mild weather followed by periods of colder weather. Thankfully, there is no sign of a return to the extreme cold we experienced at the beginning of the month.