Slack winds and a building upper ridge will continue to bring mild weather to Winnipeg as cloudier conditions move in.

Winnipeg will sit on the northeastern edge of a col today, bringing quiet conditions with a light southerly wind. Skies should stay mostly cloudy today; some models want to clear skies out this afternoon, but low-level winds in Winnipeg are forecast to stay southerly through the day. With little change in the low-level winds, it seems more likely that the clouds will persist through much of the day. Temperatures will continue mild with a high near -1 °C. The southerly wind will strengthen into the 20–30 km/h range overnight as temperatures head to a low near -5 °C.

On Thursday and Friday, Winnipeg will see cloudy skies with mild weather continuing. The breezy southerly winds will continue through much of Thursday then taper off late in the day. Friday will bring a chance for some light snow to the region as a trough moves into the Red River Valley. Both days will see a high near -1 °C and lows around the -5 °C mark.

Long Range Outlook

The long-range forecast is rather astonishing for January in Winnipeg. Forecasts show little change to the broader weather pattern over the coming weeks. This means that the next 7–10 days will bring more of the same: mild temperatures and generally dry conditions.

Today’s seasonal daytime high in Winnipeg is -13 °C while the seasonal overnight low is -23 °C.

Winnipeggers will be able to continue easily enjoying the outdoors with temperatures over 10 °C above seasonal averages.

Today will start off with a low pressure system that moved into the region yesterday exiting eastwards into Ontario. As it pushes off, Winnipeg will see mainly sunny skies and westerly winds of 20–30 km/h. Temperatures inch up to a high near +1 °C through the day as the winds gradually ease. The city should see clear skies tonight with a low near -13 °C as a ridge moves through.

On Tuesday, an upper trough will move into Saskatchewan, spreading cloud cover eastwards ahead of it into Manitoba. Winds will shift to the southeast ahead of a surface low, but should stay light through the day. Temperatures will be a tad cooler as ridging remains across the region and Winnipeg will see a high near -3 °C. Skies will be mostly cloudy on Tuesday night with a low near -5 °C.

Wednesday will bring little change across the region as Winnipeg finds itself on the edge of a col. A col is an area of light winds found where a trough and a ridge intersect. In our case, the trough will run from Alberta southeastwards to a low over Iowa, and the ridge will run from NW Ontario southwestwards towards Idaho. As a result, any cloud left from Tuesday night should just stick around and give mostly cloudy skies. Winds will be light and temperatures should climb to a high near -1 °C. Skies will stay on the cloudier side on Wednesday night with a low near -4 °C.

On both Tuesday and Wednesday, the cloud cover could produce some periods of light snow, but accumulations would be insignificant. If it happens, the snow would be light enough that it’s only really worth mentioning in passing.

Long Range Outlook

Mild temperatures with conditions trending cloudier will continue through the week. The next chance for any organized snowfall looks to be on Friday night when an occluding frontal wave could bring a couple centimetres of snow to the region.

Today’s seasonal daytime high in Winnipeg is -13 °C while the seasonal overnight low is -23 °C.

Winter will continue to be MIA as daytime highs continue to climb above freezing this week.

Another broad upper ridge spreading across the Prairies will keep mild Pacific air in place over the region.

To start the day, Winnipeg may see a bit of cloud or fog. If it does show up, things should clear out relatively quickly and leave behind mainly sunny skies. Temperatures will climb to a high just above 0 °C. The city will see light westerly winds through most of the day. More cloud will spread through the region tonight with lows dipping to around -4 °C.

On Tuesday, the city will see a few more clouds as a trough moves across the region. Winds will pick up out of the west midday behind the trough into the 20–30 km/h range. Once those westerlies kick in, temperatures should jump nicely for the afternoon and reach a high near +4 or 5 °C. Skies will mostly clear tomorrow night with winds easing and a low near -3 °C.

Temperatures will again climb above freezing to a high near +3 °C on Wednesday in Winnipeg. The city will enjoy partly cloudy skies with westerly winds picking back up into the 20–30 km/h range. More cloud will work into the region on Wednesday night with easing winds. The city should see a low near -3 °C again.

Long Range Outlook

The latter half of the week will likely see a fairly large pattern shift that will usher a return to more wintery conditions to the region. Forecasts show s strong winter storm moving from the Dakotas through Minnesota and into NW Ontario on Thursday through Saturday. This system will likely graze across portions of southern Manitoba and may bring accumulating snow to the region.

Behind this system, the upper ridging will over western North America will collapse, and the Polar Vortex will strengthen and slump into southern Nunavut. This will allow cooler air to spill southwards out of the Arctic and return temperatures closer to seasonal values for the weekend into next week. Winnipeg will likely see daytime highs in the -6 to -12 °C range this weekend and into the first half of next week. Overnight lows are forecast to dip into the mid-minus teens.

Today’s seasonal daytime high in Winnipeg is -8 °C while the seasonal overnight low is -17 °C.