Wintery Mix on Wednesday Sets Stage for Prolonged Cold Snap

A cold, wet and windy Wednesday in Winnipeg will give way to…more cloudy and cold conditions.

Winnipeg is in for a cold, wet day today. A rapidly strengthening low pressure system tracking through Minnesota has spread rain across southern Manitoba this morning. The rain will further organize and intensify this afternoon, bolstered by an upper-level trough moving into the region. The complicating factor today will be a cold front that surges southeastwards this afternoon. Behind it, temperatures will fall to around +2°C with strong northwesterly winds of 40 gusting 60 km/h. Given the significantly cooler temperatures, it seems quite likely that the rain will change over to snow behind the front. The precipitation will taper off in the evening.

There are two possible outcomes today: either the rain holds out for much of the day and it doesn’t change over to snow until late in the afternoon, or it changes over to snow once the heavier precipitation moves in for the afternoon. In the case of the former, Winnipeg would likely see around 10 mm of rain and possibly a couple cm of snow that sticks to grassy surfaces. In the case of the latter, Winnipeg could see near 5 cm of wet snow that leaves grassy areas covered and roads slushy.

Southern Manitoba will see a swath of 10-15 mm of liquid-equivalent precipitation today; some of that will likely fall as snow.
Southern Manitoba will see a swath of 10-15 mm of liquid-equivalent precipitation today; some of that will likely fall as snow.

The gusty northwesterly winds will persist into the evening before diminishing overnight as a ridge of high pressure moves in. Skies will clear through the evening but a few clouds will likely stream off of Lake Manitoba for a portion of the night. Winnipeg will see a low temperature near -5°C.

On Thursday, Winnipeg will see just a few clouds with light winds for much of the day. Temperatures will rebound slightly with a high near 6°C. Heading into the evening, skies will cloud over ahead of the next low pressure system moving into the Northern Plains. Temperatures will dip to a low near 0°C. Through the second half of the night, it’s likely that some light rain or snow will push northwards into the Red River Valley.

Friday will bring another cloudy day with periods of light rain or snow. Light northeasterly winds will keep temperatures cool. Winnipeg will see a high near +4°C. Accumulations won’t be too much with under 5 mm forecast for the Red River Valley right now. Most of the precipitation will taper off in the evening, but skies will remain mostly cloudy through the night. A few flurries will be possible overnight off of Lake Manitoba. Winnipeg will see a low near 0°C.

Long Range Outlook

Unfortunately, the long-range forecast still stinks. Plenty of cloud will persist while the chance for rain potentially intermingled with some soggy snow returns Sunday night into Monday. High temperatures will continue way below normal in the mid- to low single digits right through the end of next week. Nothing to say but terrible weather for this time of year.

Winnipeg’s seasonal daytime high is currently 14°C while the seasonal overnight low is +3°C.

Brad

Brad lives in Winnipeg with his wife and two children and is the founder of A Weather Moment. He has loved weather from a very young age and has followed that passion through his life so far. He received a B.Sc. in Earth Sciences with Specialization in Atmospheric Sciences and is currently employed in the field of meteorology. You can find the author as WeatherInThePeg on Mastodon.

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