Category: Forecasts

An Unpleasant Friday Followed Up By A Warm Weekend

Brad Leave a comment

Today will be categorically unpleasant as a brisk northwesterly wind ushers colder air into Winnipeg & the Red River Valley behind a cold front that passed through earlier this morning. It will be relatively short-lived, though, as temperatures begin rebounding immediately on Saturday and climb back above-normal for Sunday.

A cold northwesterly wind will be in place over Winnipeg & the Red River Valley today, starting out at around 30km/h but strengthening to 50 gusting 70 km/h midday. This will be accompanied by light snow, with anywhere from 1-3 cm looking like the most likely accumulation. The combination of yesterday’s rain, freezing overnight, and the gusty winds with snow will likely make highways in the Red River Valley slippery, so you should be sure to give yourself extra time and take caution if you have to travel today. Additionally, if any slightly heavier snow bands develop, visibilities will likely be very reduced as the strong winds blow the snow around underneath them. Temperatures will slowly drop through the day to around -4°C by this evening.

Winds will ease off through the night with clearing skies as temperatures dip to a low near -13°C.

Moderate northwesterly winds (pink) will be in place over the Red River Valley today.
Saturday will be cool with a high of just -3 or -2°C and increasing cloud. Winds will increase to around 15-20km/h by the end of the day, and then continue to strengthen overnight to 30-40 km/h. Temperatures will remain steady near -2°C overnight under cloudy skies. There’s a very slight chance of some light flurries early Sunday morning.

Sunday will be a pleasant day with temperatures climbing to a high near +3°C under mixed skies. Winds will shift from southerly at 15-20 km/h to westerly at around 30 km/h late in the afternoon. Expect a low near -2°C under partly cloudy skies on Sunday night.

Long Range

Looking ahead into next week, it appears a cool-down is on the way Monday as northwesterly winds usher in an Arctic ridge behind the low pressure system tracking across the northern Prairies. This will send daytime highs back down to the freezing mark or just below for the first half of the week. Warmer weather returns in a windy southerly flow in the second half of the week, but along with it comes a couple potential disturbances that could bring precipitation to the Red River Valley.

Winnipeg’s seasonal daytime high is currently 0°C while the seasonal overnight low is -11°C.

Spring Warmth Brings Showers

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Springtime warmth will arrive in Winnipeg as temperatures climb above the freezing mark, but the warmer weather will be accompanied by some rain and snow as a low pressure system moves through the region.

Today will be a very pleasant day in Winnipeg with sunny skies in the morning giving way to mixed skies with temperatures climbing to a high near -2°C.1 Winds will pick up out of the south to around 30 km/h this afternoon. Tonight will bring increasing cloudiness overnight as temperatures drop to a low near -5°C with southerly winds continuing at 20-30 km/h.

Tomorrow will be the mildest day of the next few as an approaching low pressure system moves through the region. Skies will be mainly cloudy to start the day and continue to be cloudy for the remainder of the day. A warm front will move across the Red River Valley through the afternoon, bringing milder temperatures as highs climb to around the +3°C mark. Along with the warmer weather, rain will spread across the Red River Valley in the afternoon with the warm front.2 It appears at this point that the Red River Valley will likely receive 2-4 mm of rain, so nothing too dramatic, although there are some models indicating the potential for 10-15 mm.

The RDPS model is a bit more enthusiastic than the other models, producing around 10mm of rain in the Red River Valley.

The light rain will end in the evening, followed quickly by the winds diminishing. The cloudy skies and warm air over the Red River Valley will keep overnight lows fairly warm, with Winnipeg dropping to around 0°C for a low. Towards early Friday morning, winds will then pick back up out of the northwest as the cold front swings through, which will bring cooler temperatures back into the region.

Friday will continue with mainly cloudy skies and fairly strong northwesterly winds to 40-50 km/h. Temperatures will remain steady near 0°C as any diurnal warming will be offset by the cooler air mass moving into the region. Throughout much of the day there will a decent chance for light snow, but no accumulations are expected at this point.

Friday night will bring diminishing winds, clearing skies, and cooler temperatures with overnight lows dropping to around -14°C.

Long Range

The weekend is looking quite pleasant with partly cloudy skies both Saturday and Sunday and high temperatures climbing back to above normal. At this point, Sunday is looking like it could be quite warm with highs in the 4-8°C range, although those warmer temperatures would likely come with a decent southerly wind. The hope at this point is that any precipitation associated with this warm-up will move across the central and northern Prairies, leaving us dry.

Into next week it looks like a return to near-seasonal temperatures and dry conditions.

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

  1. While our high is forecast for the airport location, it's quite likely several sites across Winnipeg see high temperatures closer to +1 or +2°C. ↩
  2. There's a chance that the early stages of the precipitation fall as snow if temperatures haven't warmed quite enough yet, but the transition to rain would follow quickly. ↩

A Return to Seasonal Temperatures

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Winnipeg will see calm weather through the first half of the week filled with plenty of sunshine as temperatures return to more seasonal values.

It’s another short and sweet forecast today with little weather in store for Winnipeg over the next couple days.

Today & tomorrow will both be sunny days, however temperatures will remain below normal. Today will see a high near -10°C, and there will be another chilly night ahead with a low near -20°C. Tuesday will be milder, with highs climbing to around the -5°C mark with southerly winds to 15-20 km/h. Expect a low near -12°C on Tuesday night.

Warmer air will be pushing eastwards over the coming few days.

Wednesday will see cloud cover move into the region, creating mixed to cloudy skies, as even milder air pushes eastwards. Highs will climb to around -2°C with strengthening southerly winds to around 30 km/h. Lows will be mild on Wednesday night near the -4 or -5°C mark.

Long Range

NAEFS 8-14 Day Temperature Anomaly Forecast — Valid March 20-27, 2017

Temperatures will moderate towards seasonal values for the long-range, however in the second half of this week temperatures will likely climb above-normal for a few days before returning to seasonal values for next week.

Precipitation wise, it looks like there will be a chance for some rain or snow this Thursday into Friday, and then the threat for a more potent storm system for the start of next week.

Winnipeg’s seasonal daytime high is currently -2°C while the seasonal overnight low is -12°C.

A Quiet, Unseasonably Cold Weekend Ahead

Brad Leave a comment

There’s not too much to say about the upcoming weekend, which is a bit of relief after the relentless storm earlier this week. Below-normal temperatures and sunny skies ahead.

Temperatures over the coming few days will be well below normal due to a rather potent Arctic ridge entrenched over the region. The upside to the colder weather is that we’ll see plenty of sunshine for the next couple days before some cloud, and warmer temperatures, moves in for Sunday.

The Arctic ridge over the Prairies will keep temperatures well below normal across a vast swath of Canada.

So for both today & tomorrow, expect highs near -15 to -13°C, with overnight lows in the -20 to -25°C range. Skies will be sunny today, but more mixed tomorrow as some cloud cover moves in from the west ahead of the next disturbance that will clip across southeastern Saskatchewan and southwestern Manitoba.

The bigger change will come on Sunday as the disturbance clips through the region. Skies will be mainly cloudy, although it should be noted that Winnipeg may see a little more sunshine if the system edges just a little bit southwards or more cloud if it tracks a bit further north. Temperatures will also warm up a tad with highs climbing towards the -10°C mark but lows will still be quite cool on Sunday night, bottoming out near -19°C.

Long Range

While a few weak clipper systems are expected to pass over southwestern Manitoba over the coming week, it looks to remain fairly dry here in the Red River Valley. Temperatures will move towards seasonal to above-seasonal mid-week, and with that shift to warmer weather we may see a bit of precipitation, but at this point it’s simply too early to tell.

Winnipeg’s seasonal daytime high is currently -3°C while the seasonal overnight low is -13°C.