Warm & Windy Wednesday Leads to Cooler Conditions

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Temperatures will soar today as strong southwesterly winds move into the Red River Valley, but a cold front moving through Wednesday night will return Winnipeg to seasonal conditions.

Temperatures will soar today as warm air spreads eastwards into southern Manitoba. Winnipeg will see a high near 20°C, but with that will come strong southwesterly winds increasing up to 40 to 50 km/h.

RDPS 2m Temperature Forecast valid 21Z Wednesday April 25, 2018
Mild temperatures with highs of 20°C or warmer will move into southern Manitoba today

Unfortunately, the strong winds will occur while very dry conditions remain over the region, producing an elevated fire risk. Skies will cloud over through the afternoon as a cold front approaches the region from the northwest.

Winds will ease this evening, then briefly pick up out of the northwest to 30 to 40 km/h when cold front pushes through sometime after 7PM. There will be a slight chance of showers in Winnipeg as the cold front moves through. Much cooler air will then flood southwards. Temperatures will dip to a low near +1°C with mostly cloudy skies.

RDPS 10m Wind Forecast Valid 21Z Wednesday April 25, 2018
Strong southwesterly winds will develop over the Red River Valley on Wednesday afternoon

Thursday and Friday will bring seasonal conditions back to the region with highs in the low to mid-teens. On Thursday, a ridge of high pressure will push across southern Manitoba. It will bring lighter winds out of the west-northwest at 15 to 25 km/h. Hot on its heels, another low pressure system will move through southern Manitoba on Thursday night. It will bring a few clouds and warmer temperatures with lows near 5°C. Winds will be back out of the north on Friday at 15 to 25 km/h with partly cloudy skies.

Long Range Outlook

The weekend is looking great with light to moderate southerly winds bringing mild temperatures back to the region under sunny skies. Winnipeg could see highs in the upper teens or twenties both Saturday and Sunday. Overnight lows will fall to the high single digits.

Conditions will take a turn to start next week as a complex low pressure system moves out of the Northern Plains into the southern Prairies. It will bring cloudier conditions and a chance of showers and/or rain.

Winnipeg’s seasonal daytime high is currently 14°C while the seasonal overnight low is 1°C.

A Mix of Spring Weather Ahead

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Winnipeg will see temperatures return to near-seasonal values to start a week that will see temperatures go on a bit of a roller coaster.

Winnipeg will see a whole bunch of sunshine today with temperatures climbing to a high near 14°C. It will be a bit breezy with northwesterly winds of 20 to 30 km/h in place behind a cold front that passed through late yesterday. Some cloud cover will begin working into the region late in the day and bring cloudier skies for much of the night. The cloud should clear out early Tuesday morning as temperatures head to a low near 0°C.

Temperatures in the Red River Valley will be slightly cooler on Tuesday as an area of high pressure moves through, but warmer weather is quickly spreading eastwards across the Prairies behind it.

Tuesday will bring sunny skies to southern Manitoba as a ridge of high pressure moves through. With light winds and a high near 11°C, Winnipeg will see a slightly cooler-than-seasonal, but overall pleasant, spring day. Temperatures will dip to a low near +3°C on Tuesday night.

A low pressure system tracking through the northern Prairies on Wednesday will bring warm and windy weather back to the region. Temperatures will climb to a high near 19°C, but south to southwesterly winds of 40 to 50 km/h will develop in the Red River Valley.

These strong winds and continued dry weather1 will produce potentially dangerous fire conditions in the valley.

Strong winds will spread into the Red RIver Valley on Wednesday afternoon.

Skies will cloud over through the day followed by winds easing in the evening. After a few hours of calm, a cold front will push southwards through the Red River Valley, bringing a slight chance of showers to the region as it moves through followed by breezy northerly winds of 30 to 40 km/h. Temperatures will head towards a low near +4°C.

Long Range Outlook

Temperatures will continue on a roller coaster through the remainder of the work week. After Wednesday’s mild conditions, Thursday will bring significantly cooler temperatures to the region with highs falling back to seasonal to below-seasonal values. The fall is short, though, with temperatures rebounding back towards the 20°C mark through Friday and Saturday. At this point, the weekend is looking beautiful with temperatures in the upper teens or low 20’s and variable cloudiness.

What Winnipeg won’t see much of, though, is rain. Chances for precipitation continue to look minimal. At this point, it looks like the next chance for accumulating rainfall will be early next week; weather models are forecasting a rather complicated storm system pushing into southern Manitoba from Montana on Monday through Wednesday.

For now, enjoy the warmth and sunshine!

Winnipeg’s seasonal daytime high is currently 13°C while the seasonal overnight low is +1°C.

  1. Relative humidity values on Wednesday are forecast to hover around 20%. ↩

Warm and Windy Weather On The Way

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Breezy conditions will develop over the Red River Valley this weekend as temperatures climb to above-seasonal values.

A low pressure system tracking through the northern Prairies will be the main driver for Winnipeg’s weather over the next several days. As it develops in Alberta and moves eastwards, warmer temperatures will spread across the southern Prairies. Daytime highs will sit comfortably in the mid-teens today, then climb into the upper teens for both Saturday and Sunday. This weekend’s mild temperatures will be matched by increasing winds out of the south to around 30 gusting 50 km/h by Saturday afternoon.

These warmer daytime highs will be matched by overnight lows climbing to above-seasonal values, particularly on Saturday night where southerly winds of 20 to 30 km/h will help produce a mild low near 6°C.

Of particular note, alongside the temperature, the dew point temperature will also be increasing. This value is a measure of how much water is in the air.  Not only is it important summer-focused weather such as thunderstorms, it also has major impact on the spring snow melt. Dew point temperatures will climb above 0°C on Saturday, combining with the mild temperatures to speed up the melting of any remaining snow in the Red River Valley.

Temperatures will climb into the upper teens across the Red River Valley on Saturday
Temperatures will climb into the upper teens across the Red River Valley on Saturday

Skies will be variably cloudy over the next couple days. Winnipeg will see mixed today, but Saturday will bring more sun with just partly cloudy skies. Winnipeg should see sunshine Sunday morning change to mixed skies in the afternoon as a cold front moves through.

There is a chance of a passing shower as the cold front swings through on Sunday, otherwise conditions look dry.

Long Range Outlook

More of the same in the long range: seasonal to above-seasonal temperatures and variable cloudiness. No big rainfall events are on the horizon. With continuing mild temperatures drying out the ground, all should be aware of the increasing fire hazard heading into the end of the month.

Winnipeg’s seasonal daytime high is currently 12°C while the seasonal overnight low is 0°C.

Variable Cloudiness, Above-Seasonal Temperatures Ahead

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This week is shaping up to be pleasant in Winnipeg with variable cloudiness and slightly above-seasonal temperatures.

Winnipeg will remain under the influence of a stationary high pressure system for the rest of the week. The result will be dry conditions with pleasant temperatures and variable cloudiness lasting into the weekend.

RDPS 2m Temperature Valid 21Z Thursday April 19, 2018
Temperatures will climb into the mid-teens on Thursday afternoon in the Red River Valley

Temperatures over the coming days will trend to slightly above-seasonal values. Winnipeg will see highs in the low teens and overnight lows near 0°C as milder air gradually spreads across the Prairies. Thanks to the stationary high pressure system, winds will remain relatively light over the region. Wind speeds should remain around the 10 to 20 km/h range while the direction backs from northeasterly today to westerly on Thursday to southerly on Friday.

Long Range Outlook

The weekend looks great, likely bringing daytime highs in the mid- to upper-teens and overnight lows well above 0°C. Notably, there are suggestions that dew point values will finally climb above 0°C, significantly helping melt any remaining snow. Precipitation continues to look unlikely.

I don’t want to count chickens before they hatch, but it seems likely that over the next week Winnipeg will finally be able to say goodbye to winter and start the spring cleaning!

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