Those looking for a reprieve from the cold will have to wait longer. Temperatures are set to remain cold throughout the week with even colder air set to move into the region for the weekend.

Today will bring a little sun and a little cloud to the region with temperatures climbing to a high near -18°C. There will be a slight chance of some light flurries, particularly in the afternoon and evening, but it won't amount to anything substantial. Skies will be clear tonight with temperatures plummeting to a low near -29°C as another surge of Arctic air pushes southwards behind a cold front that passed through late Tuesday evening. It doesn't look like we'll crack -30°C at this point, but we'll likely be flirting with the value.

Thursday will bring sunny skies and cold temperatures as a ridge of high pressure settles over the region. With a high of just -21 or -22°C, Winnipeg will be nearly 8°C below normal for this time of year. Thursday night won't be as cold, however, as "milder" air from the Yukon spreads southwards and eastwards into the region. The overnight low should be around -24 or -25°C on Friday morning.

Friday will see a return to highs above the -20°C mark with temperatures climbing to -18°C or so. Skies will be fairly cloudy as that weak disturbance carrying the Yukon "warmth" moves through, and there will be a slight chance of some light flurries through the day. Again, nothing particularly notable with just a dusting of snow possible. Temperatures will drop to around -26°C on Friday night under mixed to cloudy skies.

Long Range

The weekend is looking fairly brutal as another cold front moves through on Friday and ushers another, more powerful shot of Arctic air into Southern Manitoba.

This winter blast will push all the way south into Oklahoma, ensuring that the entire eastern half of the Canadian Prairies is entrenched in bitterly cold air. At this point, it seems quite likely temperatures will fall below -30°C on Saturday night alongside a good chance of widespread extreme cold warnings from Environment Canada.

The light at the end of the tunnel, though, is that warmer air is forecast to arrive next week as a powerful surge of Pacific air sweeps eastwards across the Prairies, sending highs back up into the minus single digits. There's a lot of uncertainty at this point, and I think that models are generally warming Winnipeg up too quickly with the cold weather likely hanging on an extra day with very windy conditions out of the south before the mild air actually arrives.

It seems quite likely that more seasonal to slightly above seasonal temperatures will be in place for the week leading up to Christmas.

Winnipeg’s seasonal daytime high is currently -10°C while the seasonal overnight low is -20°C.