Tag: Rain

Beautiful Spring Conditions Ahead

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Winnipeg will see a couple beautiful days before seasonal temperatures return to end the weekend.

RDPS 2m Temperature Forecast valid 21Z Saturday April 12, 2025
Mild temperatures will spread across the southern Prairies to end the week.

The upper ridge we talked about on Monday has arrived, and temperatures across southern Manitoba are warming up. The region will see breezy southerly winds today up into the 30 to 40 km/h range with mainly sunny skies. Temperatures across southern Manitoba will be much warmer today, with highs in the 15 to 20 °C range in the Red River Valley climbing into the low 20s over the southwest corner of the province. Highs will be cooler wherever lingering snowpack remains, but with dew point values above zero, that snow will be melting quickly.

Temperatures will dip down into the 5 to 10 °C range tonight in Winnipeg.

Saturday will be even more pleasant in Winnipeg with daytime highs again climbing into the 15 to 20 °C range with partly cloudy skies. Winds will be light, making for an even nicer afternoon to spend outside than today.

Temperatures will dip down back down into the 0 to +5 °C range on Saturday night with increasing cloudiness.

For Sunday, the big question has been whether Winnipeg would see no precipitation or a lot of precipitation. Weather models have flip flopped as the week progressed, but are finally beginning to hone in on an agreement.

The weather set-up is a complicated one. From the west, a low pressure system will leave southern Alberta and push across southern Saskatchewan beginning Saturday night. From the south, a Colorado Low will form and begin to eject northeast across the American Plains at the same time. The interplay between these two systems is the crux of the weather forecast, and it’s looking more and more likely that most of the system will bypass the Winnipeg area. As the Colorado Low lifts towards Minnesota, the Saskatchewan system will dig south and begin to merge with the CO Low. This will drag the precipitation from Saskatchewan into the Dakotas, while the main precipitation from the CO Low pushes towards NW Ontario and the Great Lakes.

There is a chance that Winnipeg may see a few rain showers or flurries later in the day on Sunday, but at this point no accumulating precipitation looks likely. Much of southern Manitoba will likely avoid most of the precipitation as it falls in Saskatchewan, the Dakotas, and Ontario instead.

Otherwise, temperatures will be seasonably cool on Sunday with a high in the 5 to 10 °C range with northerly winds of 20 to 30 km/h. Skies will stay cloudy into Monday with a low near the freezing mark on Sunday night.

Long Range Outlook

Looking ahead, Monday will bring cloudy and cool conditions again with a slight chance of a rain showers in the afternoon, then the region will see improvement with sunshine and near-seasonal temperatures on Tuesday.

Much of the week looks to bring mixed conditions with a couple nicer days and a couple days with a chance of rain or flurries. By the weekend, it looks like another warm-up with potential highs in the mid- to upper-teens will arrive.

Today’s seasonal daytime high in Winnipeg is 9 °C while the seasonal overnight low is -2 °C.

Gradually Warming up in Winnipeg

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Temperatures will gradually warm through the week in Winnipeg, bringing beautiful spring warmth to the region by week’s end.

RDPS 2m Temperature Forecast valid 21Z Thursday April 10, 2025
A building upper ridge will bring warm weather to western Canada this week, gradually pushing it east into southern Manitoba.

Sorry about the delay in posting; life has been busy and we’ll go with better late than never!

Looking ahead through the rest of the work week, the weather in Winnipeg will see a distinct warming trend as an upper ridge builds over western North America. Before that warmer weather gets to southern Manitoba, though, a weak disturbance will move through the region.

This disturbance will push cloud cover into the region overnight as temperatures dip down to a low near the freezing mark. Light snow is possible by Wednesday morning. Periods of light snow will likely transition to a few rain showers through the day on Wednesday as temperatures climb up to a high near 5 °C. Winds won’t be too much of an issue, climbing to around 20 km/h out of the southeast for the afternoon.

Skies will stay cloudy on Wednesday night as the winds taper off. Temperatures will head down to a low near the freezing mark.

On Thursday, a surface high pressure will build into the province as the upper ridge begins to amplify over western Canada. Cloudy skies will gradually break up through the day with clearing pushing into the region by the evening. Winds will stay light as temperatures climb to a high in the 5 to 10 °C range. Temperatures will dip down into the -5 to 0 °C range overnight under clear skies.

Long Range Outlook

Friday will bring mixed skies to the region as temperatures climb into the mid-teens. The warmth will come with breezy southerlies up to around 40 km/h that gradually taper off on Friday night. Temperatures will likely dip down into the 5 to 10 °C range on Friday night.

There’s more uncertainty in the weather heading into the weekend. A potent low pressure system will develop in the United States push northeast, but it’s unclear if it will end up affecting southern Manitoba or track further east into NW Ontario. It has the potential to bring significant precipitation to the region, but there’s a wide range of solutions that change day by day.

It does look likely that Winnipeg should see a high in the teens again on Saturday, then cool into the single digits for Sunday. There may be rain or snow beginning on Sunday, but that will be dependent on the track of the system south of the border. We’ll keep track of this system’s development through the week and have more to say on Friday.

Until then, enjoy the warmth heading our way!

Today’s seasonal daytime high in Winnipeg is 8 °C while the seasonal overnight low is -3 °C.

Springtime Roller Coaster Sets up Over Southern Manitoba

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Temperatures will be all over the place this week as a series of low pressure systems draw warmth north and drive cold air south.

RDPS 2m Temperature Forecast valid 12Z Tuesday March 11, 2025
An Arctic high will bring cold temperatures to southern Manitoba on Tuesday morning.

It’ll be a frigid start to the week with temperatures down into the -20s across southern Manitoba this morning. An Arctic air mass settled into the region overnight behind the cold front of the clipper system that brought a fresh coat of snow to the region yesterday. Fortunately, the cold won’t be here for long as the Arctic high responsible for it quickly shifts towards eastern Canada.

Temperatures will rebound back into the -10 to -5 °C range this afternoon with southerly winds picking up into the 20 to 30 km/h range. Much of the day should bring sunshine, but skies will cloud over in the evening. Another low pressure system will slump through the province into North Dakota tonight. It will keep temperatures from dropping much overnight and bring another dusting of snow to the region. The snow should begin sometime after supper and taper off overnight. Snowfall amounts by Wednesday morning should be less than a centimetre or two.

The weather for the rest of the work week will be defined by two features: an upper ridge building into the Prairies and a deepening upper trough on the west coast.

The building upper ridge will bring milder temperatures back to the region with daytime highs climbing to around the +5 °C mark on Wednesday. As a bonus, Wednesday should bring sunny skies with southwest winds in the 15 to 25 km/h range.

By Wednesday evening, a well-developed warm front will lie draped from the southwestern Prairies into North Dakota. A weak impulse will track along it on Wednesday night, bringing more cloud and light snow. There will be a risk of freezing rain overnight as warm air continues to stream north over the warm front through the night. At this point, it is not expected to be a widespread concern but we could see slippery areas on Thursday morning from overnight freezing rain.

Temperatures will dip down into the -5 to 0 °C range on Wednesday night with northeast winds picking up into the 20 to 30 km/h range.

RDPS 2m Temperature Forecast valid 21Z Thursday March 13, 2025
Thursday could bring warm weather to southern Manitoba.

Skies will clear out on Thursday as the deepening upper trough over the west coast begins to drive the development of a large low pressure system in the United States. The temperature forecast is tricky for the day as there are disagreements as to whether the warm front over the region will stay roughly in place or lift north. If winds stay northeast, daytime highs will likely reach a degree or two above 0 °C. If the region can switch to easterly or southeasterly winds, then much warmer weather is possible.

Long Range Outlook

Heading into the end of the week, the broad story is clear, but the details are impossible to discern at this point. As the upper trough begins to dig east towards the American Plains, a potent Colorado Low will develop and begin to lift northeast on Friday. A warm front will be driven northeast through southern Manitoba as warm air surges north. Daytime highs of 15 to 20 °C will be possible over northern Minnesota, but temperatures in the Red River Valley will likely reach the 5 to 10 °C range. As the warm air pushes north, cold air will dig in from the northwest; heading into western and southwestern Manitoba, daytime highs may not even break the freezing mark.

This system will spread multiple waves of precipitation north over a couple days, and almost anything could be possible: heavy rain showers, freezing rain, broad areas of rain, snow, and ice pellets. This system will bring strong northerly winds on its western flank with much colder weather digging into the region later on Saturday.

At this point, it looks like much of this system’s precipitation will track east of the Red River Valley but forecasting the track of Colorado Lows more than a few days out can be a futile effort. There is the chance that this system’s track could shift east and end up missing our region…or that its track shifts west and the Red River Valley experiences the brunt of this system.

Be prepared for the potential for a major storm this weekend with all sorts of wintery weather possible, and hope for the best!

Colder weather will settle into the region for Sunday as the temperature drops into the minus teens on Saturday night and rebounds towards the -10 to -5 °C range.

Warmer weather will build back in for next week with daytime highs climbing back above freezing.

Today’s seasonal daytime high in Winnipeg is -2 °C while the seasonal overnight low is -13 °C.

Mild and Slightly Unsettled

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Seasonably mild conditions will continue in Winnipeg this week as a couple disturbances track through the region.

RDPS 2m Temperature Forecast valid 21Z Wednesday February 26, 2025
A weak disturbance will cross southern Manitoba on Wednesday afternoon.

Daytime highs in the 0 to +3 °C range will continue through the rest of the work week for the Winnipeg area. Upper ridging over the western Prairies will continue to allow mild Pacific air to push east across the region.

There will be plenty of cloud cover this week, a result of both the disturbances tracking through the region and the extensive snow melt taking place across the region.

Today will bring mainly cloudy skies to the region with southerly winds picking up to around 20 km/h. Temperatures should climb above freezing for the afternoon. A few clear breaks are possible this evening as temperatures head to a low near -3 °C overnight.

A disturbance will drop into southern Manitoba from the northwest through the day Wednesday. Under cloudy skies, temperatures will climb back above freezing, then temperatures will cool in the evening as light precipitation makes its way through the region. This could fall as either rain or snow, it will depend on how close to 0 °C the temperatures are by the time it begins.

The precipitation will change to flurries on Wednesday night and taper off early Thursday. Temperatures will dip to a low in the -10 to -5 °C range on Wednesday night.

Thursday will bring mixed to cloudy skies to the Winnipeg area with a high close to the freezing mark. A more organized disturbance will push a warm front into southern Manitoba on Thursday night, keeping temperatures within a few degrees of the freezing mark through the night. Breezy southerly winds will pick up overnight as the front approaches.

RDPS 2m Temperature Forecast valid 00Z Friday February 28, 2025
A stronger low pressure system will bring a wintery mix of precipitation to southern Manitoba on Friday.

Friday will bring light rain or snow to the region, but much of the precipitation will likely fall north and east of Winnipeg. It could even end up being a drier day in Winnipeg depending on how dry the air being pulled into this system from the south ends up being.

Temperatures will reach a high near 0°C on Friday with westerly winds near 40 gusting 60 km/h. Those winds will shift northwest later in the day as much of the precipitation moves off. This will bring cooler temperatures and a chance of flurries to the region.

The northwest winds will ease overnight as skies clear and temperatures drop into the -20 to -15 °C range behind the departing system.

Long Range Outlook

Looking further ahead, Saturday will bring cooler weather to the region, but temperatures should bounce back towards freezing on Sunday. The city should see sunshine this weekend, but conditions will trend cloudier into next week as the mild air sticks around.

Today’s seasonal daytime high in Winnipeg is -6 °C while the seasonal overnight low is -16 °C.