Tag: Windy

Bitter Cold Slowly Loosens Its Grip on Southern Manitoba

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Brisk southerly winds will move through southern Manitoba today as the bitter cold eases across the region.

RDPS 2m Temperature Forecast valid 15Z Tuesday January 21, 2025
Moderate southerly winds will develop in the cold temperatures over the Red River Valley this morning.

It’s a cold start to the day, but a low pressure system dropping into the region from northern Saskatchewan is slowly dragging some milder temperatures back towards the region. It will push a warm front towards the region this morning, bringing light snow to the Red River Valley alongside strengthening southerly winds.

Those winds will climb to 40 gusting 60 km/h hour this morning. Combined with the falling snow, the recent cold, and the ice crystals that fell across the region over the weekend, it’s likely that we’ll see widespread blowing snow through the Red River Valley with some near-blizzard conditions possible on area highways running west-east.

Those southerly winds will keep wind chill values locked into the -30s despite the temperature warming into the -20 to -15 °C range.

As the low moves into southern Manitoba this afternoon, the winds will ease as the light snow mostly pushes out of the region. Some lingering flurries will be possible into the evening as temperatures reach as high as around -15 °C.

The low will exit the region overnight, bringing northerly winds back that usher in another push of Arctic air. Temperatures will dip close to -20 °C on Tuesday night under clearing skies. Temperatures will only recover a few degrees on Wednesday with breezy northwest winds around 30 gusting 50 km/h. Some local blowing snow is likely in the areas surrounding Winnipeg and skies should be partly cloudy to mixed.

Temperatures will head back into the -30 to -25 °C range on Wednesday night, but easing winds should keep wind chill values to the mid-minus 30s or so.

Thursday will be a cool day with temperatures returning to a high in the low minus teens under sunny skies.

Long Range Outlook

On Friday, a low pressure system moving through the southern Arctic will push a much broader swath of milder temperatures across the Prairies. For Winnipeg, this will mean temperatures won’t drop much on Thursday night as southerly winds up to 30 gusting 50 km/h redevelop through the Red River Valley.

On Friday, more cloud and light snow will move through the region as temperatures warm back up into the low minus single digits.

The weekend should bring pleasant winter weather with near-seasonal temperatures across the Red River Valley with a couple chances of light snow.

Looking ahead to the longer-range trends, it looks like January should wrap up trending on the milder side, though early February could bring another outbreak of bitterly cold air. There are no major snowfall events in the short or medium-range outlook for the region.

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

Bitter Cold Eases Across Southern Manitoba

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The bitterly cold air that slammed into southern Manitoba earlier this week is on its way out, and after an unpleasant Friday, nicer winter conditions will develop for the weekend.

RDPS 2m Temperature Forecast valid 21Z Saturday December 14, 2024
Breezy southerly winds will eventually bring warmer temperatures to southern Manitoba.

Although warmer weather will begin working its way into the Red River Valley today, it will be a rather miserable day outside. As an Arctic high slowly works its way east, its return flow of cold air will strengthen over the region. Southerly winds will strengthen into the 30 to 40 km/h range as temperatures climb towards a high in the mid-teens, but those winds will keep wind chill values in the -35 to -25 range through the day.

The southerly winds will continue into the night and temperatures will warm slightly overnight as skies cloud over.

Heading through the weekend, a low pressure system tracking across the southern Arctic will spread milder air east through the Prairies. With skies on the cloudier side through both Saturday and Sunday, temperatures will rise into the -10 to -5 °C range on Saturday and closer to the freezing mark on Sunday. It will be a bit of a breezy weekend, though, with southerly winds of 20 to 30 km/h on both days. Overnight lows will climb into the -10 to -5 °C range for the weekend.

Long Range Outlook

More snow is possible overnight Sunday into Monday as a low pressure system develops and moves through the Dakotas. Early indications are that 2 to 5 cm of snow are possible before this system moves out of the region on Tuesday. Colder weather will build in behind it with temperatures dipping back to seasonably cool conditions.

Today’s seasonal daytime high in Winnipeg is -10 °C while the seasonal overnight low is -19 °C.

First Blast of Bitter Winter Cold Incoming

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Winnipeg will see its first shot of bitterly cold Arctic air as a ridge of high pressure builds into the region this week.

RDPS 2m Temperature Forecast valid 12Z Thursday December 12, 2024
An Arctic high will bring bitterly cold temperatures with lows in some places falling below -30 °C this week.

With the system that brought 15 to 20 cm of new snow to Winnipeg on its way out, the next system to shape the weather in the region will be an Arctic High building into the province from the north.

Before it gets here, though, a weak disturbance will move through the region today. It will bring a little bit of light snow, perhaps another 2–4 centimetres, today and then sweep a strong cold front southwards.

Temperatures will plummet behind the front as northerly winds of 30–40 km/h drive Arctic air southwards. A seasonable high near -10 °C today will quickly be forgotten as skies clear tonight and temperatures head to a low in the mid-minus 20s.

The Arctic High will be in full force through the rest of the work week. With plenty of sunshine, daytime highs will struggle to climb into the -25 to -20 °C range with overnight lows dipping back into the -25 to -35 °C range. Wind chill values will likely get close to -40 at times on Wednesday night and Thursday night.

Long Range Outlook

Temperatures will begin to moderate on Friday as the high begins to weaken and the core of coldest air moves out of the region. Daytime highs should climb back above -20 °C but breezy southerly winds will have a bite to them and produce wind chills that make it feel much worse.

Temperatures will climb back to seasonal values for Saturday and continue warming on Sunday. The region will likely see mixed skies through the weekend.

A bit of snow is possible later Sunday into Monday ahead of colder temperatures slumping back into the region.

Today’s seasonal daytime high in Winnipeg is -9 °C while the seasonal overnight low is -18 °C.