A potent low pressure system moving through Manitoba on Tuesday will send temperatures in Winnipeg soaring, only to crash back down just as quickly. Alongside the warmth, Winnipeg will see something that has been relatively elusive this winter: snow.

A ridge of high pressure over the region today will bring cold and calm conditions to Winnipeg. Under variable cloudiness, temperatures will climb to a well below seasonal high near -17°C. Winds will remain light.

Conditions will begin deteriorating tonight as a potent low pressure system begins pushing eastwards across the Prairies. Temperatures will dip a few degrees in the evening, then climb towards -15°C by Tuesday morning as skies cloud over and winds pick up out of the southeast to around 40 km/h.

Snow will move into Winnipeg early Tuesday morning ahead of an advancing warm front. The heaviest snow will likely fall during the morning rush hour, then gradually taper off into the afternoon. Winnipeg will likely see around 5 cm or so of snow during the day, with amounts increasing into the 15 to 25 cm range across central Manitoba.

Update on Winds

Winds will be quite strong out of the southeast throughout much of the day, with winds of 40 gusting 60 km/h strengthening to 50 km/h with gusts of 70-80 km/h throughout the remainder of the day. These strong winds combined with falling snow will produce very poor visibilities in blowing snow with the potential for white-out conditions on area highways.

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Temperatures will climb quite substantially on Tuesday as the warm front passes and temperatures reach the daytime high around -1 or 0°C. Winds will ease to around 20 km/h as the low passes through the Interlake, then strengthen to 30-40 km/h out of the west-northwest on Tuesday night as the low exits the region.

Skies will remain mostly cloudy with a slight chance of flurries on Tuesday night as temperatures head to a low near -15°C. Northwest winds near 30 km/h may produce some patches of blowing snow on area highways, so be sure to give yourself extra time if you need to travel.

An Arctic high will build into the Prairies behind this system on Wednesday, ushering a colder air mass into the region. Temperatures will continue to fall through Wednesday, reaching -20°C by the evening. Winds will be moderate out of the northwest at around 30 to 40 km/h, likely producing areas of blowing snow with poor visibility on area highways. Skies will see increasing cloudiness with a chance of flurries dropping southwards out of the Interlake. Expect a low near -25°C on Wednesday night.

Long Range Outlook

Unfortunately, the passage of Tuesday’s low marks a transition into a prolonged period of cooler temperatures.

In the wake of this storm, the polar vortex is expected to intensify slightly and drop southwards into Hudson Bay, establishing a large-scale north-northwest flow that will pipe Arctic air southwards into the eastern Prairies. Winnipeg will move into a cold pattern for the remainder of the week with daytime highs near -20°C – or colder – and overnight lows near -30°C.¹

This period of colder temperatures is persist for much of next week too, with hints of a brief warm-up as a low passes by mid-week immediately followed by a return to colder conditions. So if you had optimistically put away the deep freeze gear, it’s time to get it back out!

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

1. While temperatures will be below normal, it won’t be unseasonably cold: most record lows are below -40°C for this time period! ↩

The pleasant temperature Winnipeg has seen the past few days are coming to an end: a potent cold front will blast through today, bringing strong northerly winds usher Arctic air back into the region.

While today will start off with mild temperatures near the freezing mark, a cold front will push through early this morning, ushering in northerly winds of 50 gusting to 70 km/h that will send temperatures plummeting into the low minus teens through the afternoon. There will be a fairly good chance of flurries today, but no notable accumulations are expected.

Temperatures continue to fall tonight, heading towards a low of -23°C under cloudy skies. A disturbance moving through the Dakotas will spread snow into southeastern Manitoba, possibly clipping portions of the Red River Valley. In Winnipeg, it looks like up to around 2 cm of snow may fall, but further south in the Red River Valley up to 4 to 8 cm of snow may fall overnight. Moderate northerly winds will continue through the night.

Thursday will bring clearing skies to Winnipeg & area as the winds slowly taper off. Temperatures will be cold with daytime highs near -21°C. Thursday night will bring mainly clear skies with light winds as temperatures fall to a low near -30°C. The cold weather continues on Friday with a daytime high near -20°C under sunny skies. Expect a low near -31°C on Friday night with the potential for extreme cold warnings.

Long Range Outlook

Conditions look cold and dry through the weekend and into the beginning of next week. Winnipeg will see variable cloudiness through the weekend as a weak disturbance passes to the south, but no accumulating snowfall is expected.

Long-range guidance suggests that temperatures will begin to climb back to seasonal to above-seasonal values in the second half of next week.

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

Winnipeg will continue to see mild conditions for a couple more days, then a low pressure system moving through will usher in another surge of Arctic air.

Winnipeg will see sunny skies and seasonably mild conditions as a weak ridge moves across the province. Highs near -7°C combined with light winds will make for a beautiful January day that’s hard to complain about. Temperatures will dip to a low near -12°C tonight with a light southerly wind developing. Some cloud will begin to push into the region late overnight into early Tuesday morning.

Another surge of slightly milder air will move back into the region on Tuesday ahead of a developing low pressure system in Alberta. Temperatures will climb to around -4°C under mainly cloudy skies with winds out of the southeast at 20 to 30 km/h. An area of snow will spread eastwards across the central Prairies through the day, but at this point it looks like the snow will mostly remain north of a warm front which will be draped through western Manitoba and across the Interlake region. Temperatures will remain mild on Tuesday night near -4°C under cloudy skies with a chance of flurries and light winds.

An Arctic cold front will sweep through early Wednesday morning, ushering in northwesterly winds of 30 to 40 km/h and sending temperatures in Winnipeg plummeting to around -19°C by evening. Skies will remain cloudy with a chance of flurries throughout much of the day. Skies will remain cloudy much of Wednesday night as temperatures drop to a low near -24°C by early Thursday morning.

Long Range Outlook

Below-seasonal temperatures will remain in place for the remainder of the week with daytime highs in the -22 to -18°C range and overnight lows in the mid-minus 20s right through the weekend. Conditions also look fairly dry, although a light skiff of snow may be possible on Friday as a low pressure system passes by through North Dakota.

There are hints of a more prolonged mild period developing next week, but models are still waffling on just how far north the warm air will make it and whether it will be continental feature, or primarily restricted to the United States. We’ll just have to wait and see on that one.

For now, get out there and enjoy the nice weather before that cold front arrives on Wednesday!

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