Tag: Snow

Milder Weather Returns for the Weekend

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Winnipeg will see milder weather return today and near-seasonal conditions this weekend. Conditions will turn next week, though, as bitterly cold Arctic air descends into the Prairies.

RDPS Forecast 2m Temperature valid 21Z Friday February 17, 2022
Relatively mild conditions will move into the Red River Valley today with daytime highs near the freezing mark.

A low pressure system crossing the northern Prairies has brought a stiff southerly wind and warming temperatures to southern Manitoba today. With southerlies up near 40 gusting 60 km/h, temperatures rose through the night and will continue through the morning. The city should see a high near the freezing mark this afternoon as winds ease and turn westerly-northwest.

The region will see mixed skies today and there’s a slight chance of some light snow. Most of the precipitation will likely stay well north of Winnipeg, but some scattered areas of light snow might hang on along the trough as it moves through. Even if any precipitation does make it into the Red River Valley, no notable accumulation is likely.

A lingering chance of flurries will linger into the night as temperatures dip into the -10 to -15 °C range. The cloud cover should break up a bit overnight with easing winds.

On Saturday, more cloud will move back into the region as another weak low pushes into the region. There will be a slight chance of flurries through the day as temperatures rebound back to a high near -5 °C.

A band of light snow will likely work its way across the region on Saturday evening as a cold front sweeps into the region. A couple centimetres is possible as northerly winds pick up through the night. Temperatures will dip into the -10 to -15 °C range by Sunday morning.

To wrap out the weekend, northerly winds will continue as colder air pushes into the region. Some sun should reappear on Sunday with a below-seasonal high near -12 °C or so. More cloud will push into the region on Sunday night as another low approaches the region. Temperatures will be a bit cooler, though, with a low near -20 °C. Some light snow will push towards the region for Monday morning.

Long Range Outlook

Winnipeg will likely see some light snow to start off next week. The high temperature will climb back to around -10 °C, but a cold front sweeping through later in the day will usher in northerly winds that bring a substantial change to the region.

Skies will clear as the system leaves on Monday night, and much colder weather will move into the region in its wake. Lows will dip into the -25 to -30 °C on Monday night. Heading into the rest of the week, daytime highs will drop to close to -20 °C with some -30 °C lows possible much of the week. 

Temperatures will begin to moderate slightly on Friday, with a more marked push towards seasonal values beginning next weekend.

Today’s seasonal daytime high in Winnipeg is -8 °C while the seasonal overnight low is -18 °C.

Cold Week Ahead for Winnipeg

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It will be a cold week ahead in the city as the Polar Vortex continues to supply the region with Arctic air.

RDPS 2m Temperature Forecast valid 21Z Thursday February 2, 2023
One last surge of bitter cold will spread across the Prairies for Thursday before this outbreak of Arctic air begins to weaken.

The Polar Vortex will remain entrenched over Canada’s eastern Arctic region this week, sustaining a persist northwesterly flow across the Prairies. This will keep temperatures well below seasonal averages through the rest of the week.

Daytime highs will vary through the week, ranging from a few degrees on the warm side of -20 °C on Wednesday to a much colder high near -25 °C on Thursday. Overnight lows will generally sit in the -25 to -30 °C range, though lows could reach into the -30s tonight.

The slightly warmer weather on Wednesday will be courtesy a weak disturbance moving through the region. It will bring cloud cover and a bit of light snow to the region as it moves through. The bigger impact it will bring to the region will be a strong cold front that sweeps through on Wednesday night. It will bring moderate northerly winds to the region, some blowing snow, and plummeting temperatures.

That cold air mass that moves in behind is what will keep the daytime highs so low on Thursday. Temperatures will likely dip back below -30 °C on Thursday night again.

On Friday, cloudier skies will move into the region as a slow pattern change begins to take shape. Temperatures will likely climb back into the -15 to -20 °C range, but a stiff southerly wind will make it feel pretty cold outside.

Long Range Outlook

I mentioned last week that it looked like the polar vortex would begin to destabilize heading into this weekend. Fortunately, that still looks to be the case; by the end of the week, its structure looks to become far more wobbly and will likely be pulled northwards back towards the pole by the end of the weekend.

As a result, we’ll likely see the worst of the cold leave the region this weekend, leaving behind closer to seasonal temperatures across much of the Prairies. There may be a bit of light snow through this process, but at this time no significant snowfalls are in the forecast.

Layer up and stay warm this week; relief is on the horizon!

Today’s seasonal daytime high in Winnipeg is -11 °C while the seasonal overnight low is -22 °C.

Mild Winter Weather Continues for a Few More Days

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Despite a vigorous cold front sweeping through the region yesterday, seasonably mild weather will persist the rest of the work week. But get ready, it looks like a blast of Arctic air is on the horizon.

RDPS 2m Temperature Forecast valid 00Z Thursday January 26, 2023
Colder weather will gradually build into northern Manitoba this week.

Winnipeg will continue to see mixed to cloudy skies this week in the wake of yesterday’s cold front that borough some light snow to the region through the day. Through the rest of the work week, a stalled front will stretch from northern Saskatchewan to southeastern Manitoba, with a few weak disturbances rippling along it. Not only will this maintain the cloud, it will bring the a good chance for occasional bouts of light snow through the week.

Some light accumulations of snow are most likely this morning, then a few flurries might slide across the Red River Valley through Wednesday. A more organized system will bring accumulating snow to much of southern Manitoba sometime Thursday afternoon through the night. This final system could bring as much as 4 to 8 cm of snow to some areas by Friday morning.

Over these days, daytime highs will generally sit in -5 to -10 °C range expect for Wednesday which will likely see a high slightly cooler than -10 °C. Overnight lows will vary quite a bit depending on how much cloud sticks around, but most will settle in the -15 to -20 °C range.

Long Range Outlook

Friday’s passing low will bring about a fairly substantial pattern change. This system will be bolstered by a cross-polar surge of Arctic air that pushes the Polar Vortex southwards into Canada’s eastern Arctic region. This will allow much colder air to spill southwards into the Prairies, bringing some bitter cold that the region hasn’t seen since  shortly before Christmas last year.

Forecasts show a strong cold front surging southwards through southern Manitoba on Friday night. Temperatures will plummet behind it with Winnipeg’s overnight low dropping into the low minus 20s. This weekend, daytime highs will struggle to reach the -20 to -25 °C range with overnight lows likely dipping to -30 °C.

Some models show a low pressure system passing through the region on Sunday night; if this happens, stronger northerly winds on Monday morning will likely result in blowing snow across the region.

With the surge of much colder conditions, wind chill values will dip towards the -40 mark. There’s a good chance that some extreme cold warnings will spread from Northern Manitoba into southern Manitoba through the weekend.

It’s been exceptionally mild winter so far and it was inevitable that we’d get some very cold temperatures before the season was up. Enjoy the relative warmth this week, and prepare to bundle up for the weekend!

Today’s seasonal daytime high in Winnipeg is -13 °C while the seasonal overnight low is -23 °C.

More of the Same Ahead: Cloudy and Mild Weather

Brad Leave a comment

Sounding like a broken record, the days ahead shows little change with plenty of cloud and mild conditions.

RDPS 2m Temperature Forecast valid 21Z Friday January 13, 2023
Breezy southerly winds will develop across the Red River Valley on Friday as a push of very mild winter air approaches the region.

An upper ridge will rebound again over western Canada in the coming days, helping keep the colder Arctic air locked up north.

As a result, the region will continue to see seasonably mild weather. Daytime highs will sit in the -5 to -10 °C range through the rest of the work week. A weak disturbance will move through tonight will bring a chance for some light snow to the region, but it won’t leave much more than a dusting of snow across the Red River Valley.

A bit of cooler air will slump in behind this system on Thursday, sending highs towards the lower end of the range mentioned above. On the upside, that might also bring some sunny breaks to Winnipeg as well.

Winds will be a bit of a mixed bag over the coming days. Winnipeg will see southerly winds near 30 km/h today that will ease later this afternoon. They will then shift to northwest winds for Wednesday around 20 km/h and ease on Thursday. Friday could be a bit of breezy day as a more organized push of wamer air works towards the region. Much of the Red River Valley will likely see southerly winds of 40 to 50 km/h develop in the morning. Those winds will last through the day and then ease overnight.

Long Range Outlook

Skies will cloud back over for the weekend as a push of milder air moves into the region. Daytime highs will climb towards 0 °C by Sunday with a chance of some snow.

The snow will likely fall mainly north of Winnipeg from WestMan across the Interlake. There could be close to 10 cm of snow for some places by Sunday evening. We’ll keep an eye on this system as the week progresses. The southern edge of the snow amounts drop-off sharply, and more southerly track could mean poor travel conditions along the Trans-Canada Highway corridor on Sunday.

Until then, though, enjoy the mild conditions! If you’re looking for something to do to get out and take advantage of the winter warmth, The Forks Skating Trail is open on the Assiniboine all the way to the Osborne Bridge and on the Red River to Queen Elizabeth way!

Today’s seasonal daytime high in Winnipeg is -13 °C while the seasonal overnight low is -24 °C.