Author: 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.

Icy Grip of Winter Loosening

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Temperatures will be on their way up over the next few days as the coldest air slides off to our east allowing temperatures to finally rebound to more pleasant levels. No significant snow is expected, either, so it looks like Winnipeg will actually have a fairly nice weekend coming up!

Friday
-11°C / -22°C
Mainly sunny
Saturday
-11°C / -18°C
Partly cloudy
Sunday
-6°C / -15°C
Morning cloud with a chance of flurries

The next two days will be near carbon-copies of each other as a ridge of high pressure lingers through Southern Manitoba. Both days will feature mainly sunny skies, relatively light winds and highs near –11°C. Tonight’s low will be near –22°C and Saturday night’s low will be moderated somewhat by some cloud moving in and fall to around –18°C.

Sunday looks to start the morning with mainly cloudy skies with a slight chance of some very light flurry activity as a trough of low pressure moves through. Skies will then clear through the remainder of the day as temperatures climb to a seasonal –6°C. Temperatures will drop to around –15°C on Sunday night.

The CPC 6-10 day temperature anomaly outlook shows another shot of below-normal temperatures.
The CPC 6-10 day temperature anomaly outlook shows another shot of below-normal temperatures.

Looking ahead to the long-range, it seems like we’ll see another shot of cold air bringing below-seasonal temperatures next week and then moderate towards a potentially longer stretch of more seasonal temperatures. Little precipitation is expected.

Cool Weather Continuing, but Hope on the Horizon

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The next few days will see cool weather continuing as yet another Arctic high pushes through the region. It’s not all bad news, however, as it seems like we may see a brief break from the cold this weekend into the beginning of next week as the coldest core of air pushes off to our east.

Wednesday
-18°C / -27°C
Gradual clearing with a chance of flurries

Thursday
-16°C / -24°C
Mainly sunny

Friday
-12°C / -20°C
Mainly sunny

Today will start off with mainly cloudy skies and see gradual clearing as the day progresses. Temperatures will warm up to around -18°C with a chance of some flurry activity through midday into the afternoon. Winds will strengthen to around 30km/h this afternoon ahead of the incoming Arctic ridge. Skies will clear through the evening as the temperature heads to a low near -27°C.

Thursday and Friday will be quiet, cool days with highs near -16°C & -12°C respectively and mainly sunny skies.

Warmer Weather on Tap For The Weekend

As mentioned above, a brief reprieve is in store through the weekend into early next week as warmer temperatures work into the region. Highs look to sit near -10°C on Saturday and Sunday with some flurry activity possible on Sunday. Monday may see even warmer temperatures climbing towards the -5°C mark.

NAEFS 8-14 Day Temperature Anomaly Outlook
NAEFS 8-14 Day Temperature Anomaly Outlook

Heading further into next week it looks like the cold weather will return. The NAEFS 8-14 day temperature anomaly outlook shows a high probability of below-normal temperatures returning to the region.

Mild & Cloudy Weather Ahead

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The warmer weather has finally made its way to Manitoba with temperatures expected to climb well above normal today. The surge of warmth is thanks to a weak low pressure system pushing through the Interlake today which also bring some light snow to Southern Manitoba today. Above-normal temperatures will persist through the remainder of the week in what will be a very pleasant mid-January break from the cold.

Wednesday

-3°C / -8°C
Snow beginning this morning.

Thursday

-5°C / -18°C
Mixed skies with a chance of flurries.

Friday

-5°C / -8°C
Mainly cloudy, light snow likely

Today’s weather will be driven by a low pressure system tracking through the Interlake region. Light snow will spread eastwards across Southern Manitoba through the morning period with most areas seeing the snow taper off by mid-afternoon. Generally, a couple cm of snow is expected, however slightly higher amounts of 3–4cm may fall through the Interlake. Winds will be gusty out of the south at 30–40km/h until the evening when the winds will diminish and shift to the southwest. Expect a high near –3 or –2°C today.

This 12hr. precipitation totals panel from the RDPS shows 1-2.5mm of precipitation over Manitoba today, equivalent to anywhere from 1 - 3cm of snow.
This 12hr. precipitation totals panel from the RDPS shows 1–2.5mm of precipitation over Manitoba today, equivalent to anywhere from 1 – 3cm of snow.

The clouds may break up a bit overnight, however it should remain on the mostly cloudy side. Our low temperature will fall to around –8°C.

Thursday will bring mixed skies and a slight chance of flurries as a weak frontal boundary works through the Red River Valley. Highs will sit near –5°. Skies should clear out on Thursday night, allowing temperatures to drop significantly to around –18°C for a low.

More cloud returns on Friday as another low pressure system works into the province. Not much snow is expected with it, but light snow over much of Southern Manitoba looks likely. Highs will climb to around –5°C with lows on Friday night at around –8°C.

The milder, somewhat cloudy weather is expected to persist through the weekend before returning to more seasonal values[1] for next week.

  1. Normal daytime highs are around –13°C for this time of year in Winnipeg.  ↩

Cool Weekend Leads to a Warm-Up Next Week

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Cooler weather will stick around for a few more days in Winnipeg & the Red River Valley until warmer air begins working its way across the Prairies next week. Fortunately, things will feel nicer on the weekend as the gusty winds that have been around for a couple days subside into a cool but calm weekend.

The coming days will be dominated by one last big Arctic ridge moving into the region. Daytime highs will peak at –18°C today and slide towards –23 or –22°C by Sunday, with overnight lows dropping towards –30°C on Saturday night before warmer air begins making its way into the region on Sunday night. Skies will start off partly cloudy to mixed today with a slight chance of some scattered flurry activity, and then gradually clear out for a mainly sunny weekend. Winds will be breezy today at around 30–40km/h with some local blowing snow possible in the rural areas of the Red River Valley, but will diminish tonight to fairly light through the weekend.

Warming Up Next Week

As we mentioned earlier in the week, it still continues to appear that a fairly significant warm-up is in our future.

The NAEFS 8-14 day temperature anomaly outlook is forecasting above normal temperatures returning to much of North America.
The NAEFS 8–14 day temperature anomaly outlook is forecasting above normal temperatures returning to much of North America.

Both the NAEFS pictured above as well as the American CPC 6–10 Day Outlook are forecasting a strong likelihood of above-normal temperatures returning to our region. Specific solutions vary quite a bit, but in general it appears that a big warm-up is on tap through the second half of next week with temperatures rising into the –5 to 0°C range. Quite warm air is forecast to move into the region aloft, and with no blocking ridge forecast to develop to our east and a generally more progressive flow, there’s even a slight chance that we might see warmth and sun, which would certainly be a pleasant recovery from the past cold snap.

Given that we’re nearly past the coldest part of the year and I can still remember how nice December was temperature-wise, I think it’s safe to say that this winter is a far cry from the brutal cold we had last year.