Tag: Below-Normal Temperatures

Cold Week Ahead for Winnipeg

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With Arctic air firmly entrenched over the Prairies, the weather will be relatively quiet and cold for Winnipeg.

RDPS 2m Temperature Forecast valid 12Z Wednesday February 12, 2025
Very cold Arctic air with temperatures as low as the -30s will sit over the Prairies this week.

The forecast for this week will be a pretty straightforward one; little change is expected across the region through the work week. Arctic air will remain in place over the area, bringing cool daytime highs generally near -20 °C — perhaps a degree or two warmer at times — and overnight lows dipping down into the low -20s or the -30s. Wind chill values of -30 to -40 will be common through the week, with the change that some nights will bring wind chill values of -45 to -40, which would qualify for extreme cold warnings from the Meteorological Service of Canada.

The wind will be light out of the south at 10 to 20 km/h today, then shift to light and variable on Wednesday as a weak trough of low pressure moves through the region. It will exit later Wednesday and bring light northwest winds back to the area. Winds will then shift to the south and pick up into the 10 to 20 km/h range on Thursday as a surface high passes to the south and a weak low pushes towards western Manitoba.

Little weather will impact the region this week. The Winnipeg area will see sunny skies today, followed by some cloud cover on Wednesday as the trough moves through. Skies should clear up Wednesday night bringing sunshine back to the region for much of Thursday. Some cloud may begin to push in late in the day as that low pressure system nudges into the province.

When there is cloud cover, there’s a chance that the region could see some light snow or ice crystals; no notable accumulating snow is expected this week though.

Long Range Outlook

Heading into the weekend, another Arctic high will gradually shift across the Prairies. This will bring northwest to westerly winds with clearing skies. Temperatures will stay cold with similar temperatures through the weekend as seen during the week.

So it’s cold and quiet weather ahead. Fortunately it’s not as intense a deep-freeze as sometimes…I’ll take highs near -20 °C over those ruthless cold snaps where we barely reach -27 °C. That said, the nights will be cold and there will be little relief likely until the last week of February. Stay warm!

Today’s seasonal daytime high in Winnipeg is -9 °C while the seasonal overnight low is -19 °C.

Conditions Settling as Colder Temperatures Build In

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Skies will gradually clear this weekend in Winnipeg as the Polar Vortex slumps towards the region.

RDPS 2m Temperature Forecast valid 21Z Sunday February 9, 2025
Temperatures will cool this weekend, but even colder weather will be pushing into the Prairies by the end of the weekend.

A weak disturbance dropping through the region will bring mixed skies to the Winnipeg area today. Temperatures will be similar to yesterday with a high in the -10 to -15 °C range, but winds will be much lighter at only around 15 to 20 km/h.

Skies will clear out a bit tonight, but a disturbance moving through the United States will spread a bit more cloud into southern Manitoba overnight into Saturday. Temperatures will dip down into the -25 to -20 °C range overnight with light winds.

On Saturday, Winnipeg will again see mixed skies with some morning cloud breaking up into the afternoon. Temperatures will be cooler with highs dipping to the -20 to -15 °C range with light winds.

By Saturday evening, the next big pattern shift for the region will be underway. An axis of colder air will begin building into the Prairies as the Polar Vortex begins to slowly drop southwards through the Arctic. This will entrench this first temperature drop into the region through the rest of the weekend.

Lows will dip into the -30 to 25 °C range on Saturday night with mainly clear skies and light winds.

On Sunday, a weak disturbance slumping through along the leading edge of colder air will slide through the region. It will bring mixed to cloudy skies with a chance of flurries to the region. For the Winnipeg area, a bit of snow will be most likely in the afternoon, while it will be earlier to the north and west. Daytime highs will climb back into the -20 to -15 °C range.

Some clouds will linger on Sunday night ad temperatures dip into the mid-minus 20s.

Long Range Outlook

Next week will be dominated by a single weather feature: the Polar Vortex. It will continue to drop southwards and build into the Prairies, bringing cold weather to the entire region.

Daytime highs will drop below -20 °C early next week with lows dipping close to -30 °C. There will be little change in the following 10 days. Daytime highs will largely sit in the -20s, save for the occasional passing disturbance that brings highs into the low minus teens. Overnight lows will dip into the low -20s or -30s many times right into mid-February.

It will be a prolonged stretch of cold weather that shows little sign of breaking down until late in the month. Extreme cold warnings will likely be issued by the weather office at times next week for the region.

We hope you all have a great weekend and we’ll see you back here in the deep freeze next week!

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

#awm/below_seasonal_temperatures #Winnipeg #MBwx

Seasonably Cool Weather Ahead With Chance of Snow Mid-Week

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A stubborn Arctic High will keep temperatures on the cool side this week across Manitoba. Sun will give way to cloud, though, as a developing low in the United States looks likely to bring snow to the region.

RDPS 24hr. Snowfall Accumulation Forecast (Kuchera SLR) valid 12Z Thursday February 5, 2025
A disturbance tracking through the United Staes will spread a swath of fluffy snow across southern Manitoba this week.

An Arctic high over the region will keep winds light and temperatures cool in Winnipeg today. A sunny start to the day will give way to mixed skies as some high-level cloud begins to stream into the area from the southwest. This cloud cover is part of a low pressure system developing in the United States that will continue to extend its influence northwards over the next couple days. The Winnipeg area should see a high in the -20 to -15 °C range this afternoon with westerly winds of 10 to 20 km/h.

Mixed skies will continue overnight, gradually clouding over by Wednesday morning. Temperatures will dip to a low in the -25 to -20 °C range.

Through the night, snow will spread out of Montana and across southern Saskatchewan and into Manitoba. A broad area of snow will gradually work its way across southern Manitoba through Wednesday into the evening.

Temperatures will climb close to around -15 °C on Wednesday with light southerly winds. The winds will shift westerly in the evening and pick up into the 30–40 km/h range as this system exits the region. Temperatures will dip to a low close to -20 °C.

Indications are that this system will bring a notable snowfall to the region. As the snow pushes into the cold air over the region, its snow-to-liquid ratios (SLR) will climb. These values will likely reach into the 20:1 to 25:1 range and bring rather fluffy snow to the region.

For areas along and south of the Trans-Canada Highway corridor, it looks like 5 to 10 cm is likely by the time it tapers off. For areas north of this, a broad swath of 10 to 15 cm is likely for the Parkland and Interlake regions.

A few flurries will linger on Thursday as west-northwest winds continue in the 30 to 40 km/h range. Skies will gradually clear thorough the day with highs around -15 °C. The wind will drop off with clearing skies on Thursday night as temperatures head into the -25 to -20 °C range.

Long Range Outlook

The long range forecast for Winnipeg looks quiet with no major snow events on the horizon. Arctic highs will continue to dominate the weather pattern here and bring seasonably cool weather right through next week.

Today’s seasonal daytime high in Winnipeg is -10 °C while the seasonal overnight low is -21 °C.

Alberta Clipper Plunges Winnipeg Into Bitter Cold

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An Alberta clipper exiting the province will bring strong to severe north winds and blizzard conditions to the Red River Valley. Behind this system, strong northerly winds will drive a massive outbreak of Arctic air through region, sending Winnipeg into the deep freeze.

Strong northerly winds in the Red River Valley will drive bitterly cold Arctic air southwards into the region.

Temperatures in the Winnipeg area will plunge from close to freezing early this morning into the -15 to -20 °C range this afternoon, driven by northerly winds blasting through the region. A cold front will sweep through the Red River Valley early this morning, ushering in northwest winds that will strengthen to as high as 60 gusting 90 km/h. Combined with flurries moving through the region, these winds will likely produce blizzard conditions across much of the Red River Valley, especially in areas west of Winnipeg. The Elie-Portage la Prairie corridor of the Trans-Canada Highway will likely be exceptionally hazardous and very well could close today.

In Winnipeg, visibilities may not deteriorate as much as areas outside the city as the recent warm weather and limited new snow may limit the ability for substantial blowing snow development.

Conditions will begin to improve this evening. Winds will ease to 30 gusting 50 km/h after the sun goes down, bringing an end to most of the blowing snow across the region. Temperatures will drop down into the mid-minus 20s as skies clear with wind chills in the mid-minus 30s.

The weekend will be dominated by a strong Arctic high building into the Prairies. Daytime highs will likely sit in the -25 to -20 °C range with overnight lows dropping towards -30 °C. Skies will be clear through the weekend as the northwest winds gradually shift towards the west and weaken. Wind chills will dip down into the -35 to -40 range at night and will bring a chance for extreme cold warnings across the region at some point over the weekend.

Long Range Outlook

The bitter cold will stay entrenched over the region through the first half of next week. Several long-range weather models show warmer weather arriving in the region mid-week with a chance for some accumulating snow.

Stay safe today; if you must travel on area highways, make sure you have a winter survival kit in your car in case of an emergency. Make sure to cover up if you need to spend time outside this weekend as a northwest wind will be persistent over the coming days.

And just as a final note, we hope the start of 2025 finds you well. Life has kept me extremely busy over the last 6 weeks with family events, Christmas, and moving for a renovation. That didn’t leave much time (or energy) for writing which is why the site went quiet for a while. Things are starting to calm down, so we hope to get back into the rhythm of regular writing soon!

Today’s seasonal daytime high in Winnipeg is -13 °C while the seasonal overnight low is -24 °C.