Summer Returns

After an early blast of fall-like weather earlier this week, Winnipeggers will be pleased to hear that summer will quickly return to Southern Manitoba.

Wednesday
24°C / 13°C
Warming up with some afternoon cloud

Thursday
27°C / 15°C
Mainly sunny. Off-chance of a late-day shower

Friday
23°C / 9°C
Morning cloud with gradual clearing

There’s little to say about the weather heading our way the next few days. Today will be a pleasant day with highs near 24°C with some afternoon cloud and winds gradually increasing out of the south to 20–30km/h. Temperatures will dip to around 13°C tonight with partly cloudy skies.

Tomorrow will be a warmer day across the region with highs near 26 or 27°C. A cold front will begin working its way through western Manitoba through the day and push into the Red River Valley overnight. Despite ample surface moisture, stronger mid-level dynamics remain further north in the Interlake, so it’s likely that the front will be relatively unimpressive through the Red River Valley, but there will still be an off-chance of some isolated strong thunderstorms. In general, showers will be much more likely along the front as it pushes eastwards. Temperatures will drop into the mid-teens Thursday night in Winnipeg with a small chance of showers.

Friday will be a cooler day thanks to the cold front that will push through on Thursday. Highs will be limited to the low 20’s and the day will start off with cloud that will then gradually clear throughout the day. The low on Friday night will drop back into the high single-digits.

Major Low Brings Cooler and Unsettled Weather

A major low pressure system developing in the United States and forecast to lift northwards into the Eastern Prairies through the weekend will bring generally unsettled weather ahead of a more cohesive area of precipitation that will move through on Saturday night.

Friday
22°C / 15°C
Mostly cloudy with a chance of scattered showers

Saturday
19°C / 15°C
Mostly cloudy

Sunday
23°C / 15°C
Rain ending in the morning; sunny breaks with a risk of strong-to-severe thunderstorms thereafter

Perhaps the single most important thing to keep in mind with today’s forecast is the fact that weather models have little consensus on what’s going to happen over the next few days other than the fact that there will be a large low pressure system that will impact an area somewhere between the Rocky Mountains and the Great Lakes.

That being said, it looks like the next several days will bring mixed weather to Winnipeg. Today will see a chance for scattered shower activity as a weak shortwave rolls across the Red River Valley, but nothing nearly as bad as what hit the city last night, where up to 80mm of rain fell in a rapid deluge through portions of the city that resulted in wide-spread flooding through the hardest hit areas.

Temperatures will climb to around 21 or 22°C this afternoon with a light wind out of the north. Tonight will be mainly cloudy with fairly light winds and a low near 15°C.

Saturday: The Low Approaches

Tomorrow will see mainly cloudy skies with a high of just 19 or 20°C. Winds will pick up out of the northeast to 30-40km/h as the main low pressure system for the weekend strengthens and lifts northwards through the Dakotas. By supper time, rain with the chance for embedded thunderstorms will spread through North Dakota into Southern Manitoba, reaching Winnipeg later in the evening.

The RDPS is forecasting an intense convective complex with substantial rainfall amounts on Saturday night. Who knows if it's correct.
The RDPS is forecasting an intense convective complex with substantial rainfall amounts on Saturday night. Who knows if it’s correct.

The rest of Saturday night will be quite rainy with 10-20mm of rain likely across most of Southern Manitoba with localized amounts in excess of 30-40mm due to embedded convection in the precipitation shield. Some models, such as the RDPS pictured above, want to produce upwards of 50-75mm of rain, although at this point that’s likely overdone and a symptom of what’s known as “convective feedback” in the model, something that ends up causing the model to produce too much precipitation when there is widespread convection occurring. Temperatures will drop to around 15°C again with winds out of the northeast at around 30km/h.

More Unsettled Weather on Sunday

The weather on Sunday will likely improve as the low pressure system lifts through the Red River Valley and pushes off to our northeast. Rain will taper off in the morning and Winnipeg will be left under mostly cloudy skies in what’s known as the “dry slot” — the area behind the cold front located between the frontal precipitation and wrap-around precipitation denoted by descending dry air aloft. The high will climb to around 22°C with some strong northeasterly winds becoming light in the afternoon.

Significant instability associated with the low pressure system will be in place, and even with temperatures climbing only into the low 20’s, it will be enough when coupled with the significant moisture in place to present a risk for strong-to-severe thunderstorms. We’ll have more information in the comments on Sunday.

Things will begin to clear out on Sunday night as the temperature drops to around 13°C.


Into next week looks fairly benign with temperatures gradually returning towards normal by week’s end. There will be a couple cool nights in the coming week with overnight lows dipping into the single-digits.

We’ll be keeping an eye on this system as it develops; slight alterations in the track of the system could dramatically impact forecasts, so if any changes are needed we’ll note them below in the comments. All in all it will be a mediocre weekend followed by an improving week.

A Big Shift in the Weather

A big change in the weather is on the way as a major low pressure system moving across Manitoba through the second half of the week shifts the province into an unsettled and significantly cooler pattern.

Wednesday
30°C / 19°C
Sunny, hot and muggy

Thursday
24°C / 16°C
Morning (thunder)showers then mixed skies with a chance of showers redeveloping

Friday
23°C / 13°C
Mixed skies; slight chance of scattered showers

Today will be another gorgeous, warm day with plenty of sunshine and highs in the upper 20’s, perhaps even reaching the 30°C mark. With the developing low pressure system still to our west in Saskatchewan, a broad southerly flow will continue to draw heat northward and trap moisture near the surface. The result will be a fairly humid day that ends up feeling closer to the mid-to-high 30’s instead of “just” the high 20’s. It will also be one of the breezier days in a while with winds picking up to around 30km/h this afternoon. Some cloud cover will likely begin working its way into the Red River Valley through the afternoon or early evening as the incoming low pressure system tracks eastwards.

Some showers or thunderstorms will develop through southeastern Saskatchewan and North Dakota and lift northeastwards through the night. Whether or not they move into the Red River Valley is another question altogether. The entire system is moving a little slow and there is uncertainty as to whether the showers will be extensive or tied closely to the surface low. That said, I think that there’s a chance for showers or thunderstorms in Winnipeg through the second half of the overnight period.

Thursday: Likely Wet

Tomorrow will likely start off with some rainy weather in Winnipeg as some rain or thunderstorms move through the city. The potential for a fair amount of rain exists, with models forecasting anywhere from almost nothing to nearly 50mm of rain. While nothing is entirely possible – models can handle precipitation that develops during the night-time in summer poorly – so is the other extreme; with precipitable water values forecast to reach nearly 2 inches (50mm), that same amount of rain is possible if the convective system happens to be a slow-moving one. What happens will depend highly on what develops tonight, so we’ll be keeping a close eye on it.

RDPS forecast precipitation amounts for the daytime on Thursday indicate upwards of 40mm in Winnipeg
RDPS forecast precipitation amounts for the daytime on Thursday indicate upwards of 40mm in Winnipeg

The rain will push off to the northeast through the morning and leave us with mixed skies and a chance of some shower activity redeveloping in the afternoon. Winds will be fairly light as the temperature climbs to around 24°C.

Thursday night will be fairly cloudy with a chance of the odd shower as the temperature drops to around 16°C.

Friday: Continued Cooling

Friday will offer a brief reprieve from the unsettled weather with mixed skies gradually becoming more cloudy as the day wears on and a high near 23°C with a northeasterly wind. There will be a slight chance of some scattered afternoon showers, but their impact looks to be minimal if they develop.

Friday night will see temperatures dropping to around 13°C with a decent chance at seeing more shower or thunderstorm activity developing over the Red River Valley as another impulse begins lifting northwards out of North Dakota into Manitoba.

Big Cool-Down in Store for Southern Manitoba

We’re in store for much cooler weather over beginning this weekend persisting through next week as a large upper-level cold trough develops over the Prairies as another system pushes through Manitoba bringing a renewed chance for rain.

The 6-10 day temperature outlook issued by the CPC in the United States shows a high probability of below-normal temperatures.
The 6–10 day temperature outlook issued by the CPC in the United States shows a high probability of below-normal temperatures.

This upper-level cold trough will shunt the jet stream further south and allow much cooler air to spill southwards out of the Arctic. This will drop our daytime highs into the teens and provide some distinctly fall-like weather. There’s some uncertainty to how cold it will get, but it seems fairly safe to say that daytime highs in the mid-teens are likely. Overnight lows won’t be too horrendous, generally dropping into the 5–8°C range.

A Few More Hot Days Before We Cool Down

A few more days of hot weather are in store before we cool down later this week. Enjoy the heat while it lasts!

A low pressure system will bring unsettled conditions to south-eastern Manitoba on Monday
A low pressure system will bring unsettled conditions to south-eastern Manitoba on Monday

Monday

Monday
24°C / 12°C
Mix of sun and cloud with a chance of showers

Today will be a bit unsettled as a large upper-level weather system traverses our region. There will be a chance of showers and risk of thunderstorms in the Red River Valley and south-eastern Manitoba. Any storms that develop will be non-severe, though there is a slight risk of cold core funnel clouds due to the large amount of “spin” with this system. Temperatures will range from the low to mid twenties across southern Manitoba, with the highest readings in western areas.

Tuesday

Tuesday
28°C / 16°C
Mainly Sunny

Tuesday looks to be a very nice day, with temperatures climbing back up into the upper twenties. Skies will be mainly sunny and winds will be light. No precipitation is expected, except for perhaps a stray shower or thunderstorm.

Wednesday

Wednesday
30°C / 18°C
Mainly Sunny

Wednesday looks like another nice day, with temperatures near the 30C mark. There will be a risk of thunderstorms in western Manitoba, but at this point it looks like they should be non-severe. It appears the main risk with any storms that develop will be heavy rain since they’ll be slow-moving due to a weak jet stream overhead.

Long Range

The long range NAEFS model suggests cooler weather will stick around through the end of the month
The long range NAEFS model suggests cooler weather will stick around through the end of the month

Unfortunately, it looks like that cool-down I’ve been hinting at is set to take shape later this week. A cold front will probably pass through southern Manitoba on Thursday, dropping temperatures back into the low to mid twenties for late week into the weekend. Models suggest that we’ll see cooler weather – predominately in the low twenties – stick around into next week.