The Red River Valley will continue to see excellent melt conditions to start the week with near-seasonal temperatures and little precipitation.

Today will be the warmest day of the next three for Winnipeg. A low pressure system crossing northern Manitoba will draw warmer air across the southern half of the province. West-southwest winds of 20 to 30 km/h will send Winnipeg’s high to a seasonal 6°C. The city will see mixed skies through much of the day. The cloud cover will thicken up overnight as a cold front approaches. Winnipeg should see a low near -3°C tonight.

A cold front will push through Winnipeg on Tuesday morning, bringing a chance of flurries and northwesterly winds of 30 gusting 50 km/h. The chance for flurries should end midday, but the city will continue to see mixed skies through the afternoon. Daytime highs will be cooler behind the cold front; Winnipeg should reach around 0°C. A ridge of high pressure will build into the region on Tuesday night, bringing clearing skies and diminishing winds. The temperature drops to a low near -6°C.

Wednesday will be a pleasant day for Winnipeg. The ridge of high pressure will keep winds relatively light and keep skies sunnier than not. The city will see a high near 3 or 4°C, but the light winds will help it feel warm. On Wednesday night, southeasterly winds will begin to develop ahead of a low pressure system developing over Saskatchewan. These winds will help keep the low a bit milder near -3°C, but also likely bring in some cloud cover towards Thursday morning.

Long Range Outlook

Winnipeg will see unsettled conditions on Thursday into Friday as a low pressure system moves through and a cold front drops southwards. There’s a good chance the city may see some rain, particularly late Thursday, but outside of that it looks like it will be cloudier with just a chance of precipitation. This disturbance will help shift the Prairies into a more zonal flow, bringing a more sustained warm-up through the weekend into next week.

Today’s seasonal daytime high in Winnipeg is 5°C while the seasonal overnight low is -6°C.

A persistent northwesterly flow will bring near-seasonal temperatures to Winnipeg for the weekend along with a couple chances for flurries.

Winnipeg will start off today with cloudy skies and some flurries moving though the region. This unsettled weather is the result of a low pressure system called a “Mackenzie Low” moving through the region.¹ Winnipeg won’t see much more than some flurries; most of the snow is falling through central Manitoba. A cold front will swing through midday, ushering in northerly winds up to 40 gusting 60 km/h. The cloud cover will break up and clear out through the afternoon behind the cold front. The daytime high will be a near-seasonal +2°C, but temperatures will slowly fall behind the cold front to around -2°C by the evening. Temperatures will drop to a low near -10°C under mainly clear skies tonight. Those northwesterly winds will gradually ease through the evening.

On Saturday, Winnipeg will see partly cloudy to mixed skies as a ridge of high pressure moves through. Winds will pick back up out of the northwest to around 20 km/h as temperatures climb to a high near +1°C. On Saturday evening, more cloud will begin working into the region as another Mackenzie Low approaches. This one will be much weaker than the last, bringing just a few flurries or light snow to the region. Temperatures will dip to a low near -4°C.

The city should see mixed skies on Sunday with a continued chance of flurries through the morning. Winds will pick up from the northwest at 20 km/h and temperatures should climb to a high near +3°C. Temperatures will dip to a low near -4°C on Sunday night under mixed to cloudy skies.

Long Range Outlook

Seasonal temperatures will gradually increase to above-seasonal temperatures next week as the northwesterly flow aloft breaks down, giving way to a more westerly flow. This pattern change will result in a constant stream of quick-moving disturbances, though, likely bringing variable cloudiness and occasional chances for precipitation.

Today’s seasonal daytime high in Winnipeg is +4°C while the seasonal overnight low is -7°C.

1. A Mackenzie Low is a compact but moderately strong low pressure systems that develop over the Mackenzie region of the Northwest Territories and then typically progress southeastwards, embedded within a broad northwesterly flow. ↩

Snowy and windy conditions will develop tonight across parts of southern Manitoba as a potent winter storm pushes northeastwards through the American Plains.

Winnipeg will start the day today with cloudy skies and a few fog patches. It won’t last too long though; skies will clear early this morning and temperatures will climb to a high near 0°C. More cloud will push in later this afternoon as the Colorado Low lifts northwards through the United States. By evening, snow will begin lifting through the Red River Valley into the southeastern corner of the province. As this happens, winds will strengthen out of the north, reaching 40 gusting 60 km/h by Thursday morning.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, snowfall amounts will be tricky as once again as snow will quickly taper off on the northwestern side of this system. Right now it looks like that line will run roughly through Winnipeg, with amounts quickly dropping off to nothing northwest of the city and increasing to ≥ 10 cm to the southeast. That said, if this line shifts in either direction by even 20-30 km, that could be the difference between no snow or 10 cm of snow. Right now it appears that the city will get around 2-5 cm of snow by the time it tapers off, but we’ll keep an eye on things in case this system trends westwards.

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Temperatures will remain steady near -2°C on Thursday with northerly winds continuing at 40 to 50 km/h. Blowing snow shouldn’t be too much of an issue, except for the southeastern Red River Valley. In that area, moderate snow will combine with the strong winds to produce poor visibilities in snow and blowing snow. In Winnipeg, any remaining snow should taper off mid-morning but skies will remain cloudy through the day. The wind will ease through the evening to around 20 km/h. The clouds should break up a bit overnight as temperatures head to a low near -8°C.

Friday will bring mixed to mostly cloudy skies as some morning sunshine gives way to afternoon cloud. Temperatures should reach a high near -4°C and winds will remain out of the northwest at about 20 km/h. Cloudy skies should remain in place Friday night with a low near -13°C.

Long Range Outlook

The weekend looks pleasant with temperatures returning 0°C, variable cloudiness, and light winds. Daytime highs will continue to climb into the low single digits next week.

Today’s seasonal daytime high in Winnipeg is -1°C while the seasonal overnight low is -11°C.