Tag: Below-Normal Temperatures

Cool and Quiet Weather Ahead

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Fairly quiet weather is on tap for Winnipeg as the Arctic air mass that has been entrenched over the region is reinforced by numerous weak systems drifting southwards in the northerly flow over the province. As a result, temperatures will remain well below normal through the weekend with some flurry activity possible.

Friday
-7°C / -15°C
Mainly sunny
Saturday
-8°C / -15°C
Mixed skies with a chance of light flurries
Sunday
-6°C / -12°C
Mainly cloudy with a few flurries

Today will be the nicest day of the next few with sunny skies as we head towards a high of around -7°C. Winds will be relatively light out of the west at 15-25km/h. Tonight will see a low near -15°C.

Saturday will bring mixed skies once again with a high near 8°C as winds shift back to northwesterly behind a weak trough moving through and lake-effect flurries start up again. No accumulations are expected, but you may see a few flakes in the air throughout the day on Saturday. Heading into Saturday night, a low pressure system that is making an extrodinary trip from essentially the North Pole straight to Southern Manitoba will begin working into the region. Cloud and a few flurries will spread into the region ahead of it through Saturday night.

The incredibly amplified flow over North America will bring a low pressure system from the high arctic straight south through Manitoba this weekend.
The incredibly amplified flow over North America will bring a low pressure system from the high arctic straight south through Manitoba this weekend.

Sunday will be a mainly cloudy day with some light flurries through the Red River Valley. Northwesterly winds will result in some slightly heavier snow in the lee of the Manitoba lakes, however no significant accumulations are expected. The ability for the lakes to produce heavy snowfall is rapidly diminishing as ice cover continues to grow and expand, covering up the open water.

With all the cloud around and northwesterly winds in place, temperatures should climb a couple degrees warmer than Friday or Saturday to around -6 or -5°C. Heading into Sunday night, the clouds will likely break up a little bit, although the chance for flurries will continue. The low should drop to around -12°C, however it may end up a couple degrees warmer or cooler depending exactly on how much clearing takes place.

Quiet Pattern Continues

Looking ahead to next week, temperatures look to remain fairly steady with little expected for snowfall. Long-range outlooks show a move out from below-normal temperatures, but that’s more a result of the normal highs gradually falling. No major snowfalls are in the foreseeable future.

Flurries Taper Off, Cool Weather Continues

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A reinforcing shot of Arctic air is pushing into Southern Manitoba for the remainder of the week. The cooler weather will gradually settle things and bring more sunshine than we’ve seen in the past while to the region, but before that happens another day of flurries lies ahead.

Wednesday
-5°C / -9°C
Periods of snow
Thursday
-7°C / -14°C
Mixed skies; chance of light flurries
Friday
-9°C / -15°C
Mainly sunny

Today will bring mainly cloudy skies with flurries continuing to drift southwards from the Interlake as general instability coupled with optimal temperature profiles[1] results in periods of snow throughout the day today. Snow will begin tapering off in the late afternoon or evening as clouds begin to break up and the northerly winds around 30-40km/h shift more northwesterly and gradually weaken.

Temperatures will climb to a high around -5°C and drop to -9 or -10°C tonight.

The forecast sounding for noon today in Winnipeg shows the deep layer of favourable snow-making temperatures – shown in white – that will be in place Wednesday and Thursday.
The forecast sounding for noon today in Winnipeg shows the deep layer of favourable snow-making temperatures – shown in white – that will be in place Wednesday and Thursday.

Thursday will bring mixed skies as clouds gradually clear throughout the day. The same temperature profile will be in place as today, so any low-level clouds will likely be able to produce some light flurry activity, but nothing significant is expected. Winds will shift to westerly at around 15-25km/h for much of the day as a ridge of high pressure slumps into the Dakotas from Saskatchewan. Expect a low near -14 or -15°C under clear skies on Thursday night.

Friday will be a beautifully sunny day, but it comes with the cost of being the coldest day so far. With relatively light west to southwesterly winds flowing out of the high pressure system to our south and southwest, temperatures will climb only to around -9°C. Temperatures will drop back into the mid-minus teens on Friday night under clear skies.

Cold Weather, Flurries for the Weekend

This weekend looks to bring flurries back to Southern Manitoba as another cold front pushes through on Saturday night. Snow will likely be found along the front as well as behind it through the day on Sunday as another unstable northwesterly flow develops.

The GDPS is showing another round of flurries pushing through the Red River Valley on Saturday night into Sunday morning.
The GDPS is showing another round of flurries pushing through the Red River Valley on Saturday night into Sunday morning.

Cold weather is expected to continue behind the front as another shot of Arctic air moves into the province.

  1. Snow grows best in temperatures between around -8°C to -15°C between the surface and around 700mb. The thermal profile over Winnipeg matches those temperatures nearly exactly which will make it very easy for snow to develop.  ↩

Gradual Improvement In Store

Brad Leave a comment

The weather will ever so slowly improve in Winnipeg over the next few days as the persistent low pressure system over Northern Ontario that has kept us locked in a cold northwesterly flow over the past several days begins to weaken and move off to the north. It will be a slow process, though, so for now hope will sit right on the horizon while Winnipeggers work through a few more cool days.

Wednesday
7°C / -2°C
Cloudy with sunny breaks

Thursday
8°C / 1°C
Mainly cloudy

Friday
10°C / 1°C
Mainly sunny

Gradual warming will take place over the next few days as a ridge of high pressure slowly works its way into the province from the northwest, bringing with it not warmer air, but sunshine, which should help things get warmer than they have been over the past few days. Today, though, will see gusty northwesterly winds and intermittent sunny breaks in what will otherwise be a fairly cloudy day. The temperature should climb to around 6 or 7°C, although it will likely be slow-going in getting to that point. Clearer skies tonight will bring a low around -2°C with frost.

Tomorrow will be another mainly cloudy day as more cloud moves into the Red River Valley from the Interlake in our northwesterly flow. Temperatures may end up a tad bit warmer than today at 7 or 8°C and winds will ease off a little bit. Skies should clear tomorrow night with a low near 1°C.

Friday will be the first “nice” day seen in a while for Winnipeg; mainly sunny skies, light winds and a high near 10°C will break our spell of cold, windy and cloudy weather. Temperatures will drop to around the 1°C mark again on Friday night.

Warming for Thanksgiving Weekend

Warmer weather is on the way, however, for the weekend. A large low pressure system will drag warmer air into the province, helping highs climb into the mid-teens for both Saturday and Sunday. Skies are looking sunny for Saturday with mixed-to-cloudier skies on Sunday, but no precipitation is expected. Things may turn more unsettled on Monday as a low pressure system moves through the Interlake, but it’s too far out at this time to really say much for certain. We’ll have a full look at Thanksgiving weekend on Friday morning!

Another Cold Snap in Southern Manitoba

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Moderately miserable, categorically cold; the weather leading into this weekend will be fairly miserable as a large low pressure system moving through Ontario exerts its influence over southern Manitoba causing strong northwesterly winds as the coldest shot yet of Arctic air plunges southwards into the United States.

Friday
5°C / -1 to 2°C
Cloudy with showers. Flurries possible in the morning. Strong NW wind to 50km/h.

Saturday
7°C / 0–2°C
Clearing except cloudy in the lee of the lakes

Sunday
9°C / 3°C
Mixed skies with a slight chance of isolated showers or drizzle

Friday: A Miserable Fall Storm

The Red River Valley will be under the grip of a miserable fall storm lifting northwards through Northern Ontario today, driven by a massive push of cold Arctic air sweeping through Manitoba. We’ll see a very cold start to the morning with temperatures hovering around 2–3°C, strong northerly winds at 40–50km/h with gusts as high as 70–75km/h and a band of rain stretching north-south through the region. Embedded within the band will likely be some convection, significant since increased precipitation intensity could mean that in addition to the rain, we might see brief bursts of snow as well.

The precipitation should taper off by early afternoon, but we’ll still be left with a strong northerly wind and temperatures struggling to get to our high of 5°C. If the sun manages to poke out at all, we may eke out a 6°C for a high, but that looks quite unlikely.

The RDPS clearly shows Winnipeg nestled between two bands of lake-effect precipitation on Friday night.
The RDPS clearly shows Winnipeg nestled between two bands of lake-effect precipitation on Friday night.

Winds will begin to taper off tonight to around 20km/h. Combined with the cold air, the lake-effect machine will likely start up again, producing lake-effect showers or snow through the overnight period across regions in the lee of the lakes. At this point it looks like Winnipeg will remain safely between the two bands of lake-effect precipitation. The overnight low will be anywhere from –1 to 2°C, depending on exactly how much cloud remains in the area. Here in Winnipeg we should end up on the colder end of things under clearing skies.

A Chilly Weekend

It will be a chilly weekend in Winnipeg with temperatures on Saturday and Sunday both climbing only into the mid-to-upper single digits. Saturday should be a fairly nice day with mainly sunny skies in Winnipeg, but just to our west and east, lake-effect cloud (and likely precipitation) will be ruining a few people’s day. Temperatures will dip to the 0 to 2°C range Saturday night with just a few clouds. Again, lake-effect cloud will be present in the lee of the lakes.

Sunday will bring mixed skies as the whole storm system begins backing into Northern Manitoba from Ontario. Rain or snow will push through Central Manitoba into the Interlake through the day, spreading cloud ahead of it. Winds don’t look too bad this time – only around 20–30km/h – and precipitation should hold off in Winnipeg until overnight. Temperatures will drop to around 3–4°C on Sunday night, heading into a cool and showery Monday.