Tag: Windy

Mixed Bag For Second Half of the Work Week

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Winnipeg will dodge the worst of a major storm system that will slam Alberta and portions of Saskatchewan with strong winds and rain; comparatively, things will be quite pleasant!

A major storm is developing over Alberta today that will bring 30-50 mm of rain to the province alongside winds gusting over 100 km/h. This system will spread eastwards and bring significant weather to Saskatchewan later today, but will begin to weaken as it approaches Manitoba overnight. While Winnipeg will be spared from the brunt of this storm, some breezy and unsettled weather is still on the horizon.

First up, today will be a warm and windy day as moderate southerlies develop ahead of the Alberta storm. We should see fairly sunny skies, but winds will pick up out of the south-southeast to 30-40 km/h with gusts to 60 km/h through the morning and early afternoon. Temperatures will be near-seasonal with a high of 21°C.

The winds will continue out of the south-southeast tonight at around 30 gusting 50 km/h as cloud cover pushes in late overnight. Temperatures will drop to a low near 11°C.

Thursday will bring cloudy skies to the region as a trowal1 moves through the region. Whether or not Winnipeg will see rain is still somewhat uncertain; support for it definitely tapers off as the feature moves into the Red River Valley, but it will likely be able to sustain a band of rain or showers that will move through mid-day. A second batch of showers is possible in the early evening as the low pressure system moves into the Interlake.

More recent model runs are beginning to show accumulating rainfall in the Red River Valley on Thursday

While the winds will be breezy first thing, they should diminish through the morning as the low approaches. Temperatures will reach a high near 18°C. Temperatures should dip to around 12°C on Thursday night with the cloud cover breaking up.

Friday will bring mixed skies to Winnipeg & the Red River valley with a high near 19°C. It should stay dry, with any showers to our east and north. Winds will be out of the west at 15-25 km/h. It looks like skies should be fairly clear on Friday night as temperatures dip to a low near 9°C.

Long Range

The mixed bag continues this weekend with Saturday likely bringing a fair amount of sunshine and highs near the 20°C mark, but things take a turn on Sunday with highs dropping into the mid-teens as showers slump southwards out of northern Manitoba. With breezy northwesterly winds, it will likely be a relatively unpleasant day. The unsettled weather may persist into Monday, but then the remainder of next week looks pleasant with dry conditions and highs in the low 20’s.

Winnipeg’s seasonal daytime high is currently 21°C while the seasonal overnight low is 7°C.

  1. Trowal stands for “trough of warm air aloft” and is the warm air rising around a low pressure system from the occluding frontal wave. ↩

Weather Settles to Breezy & Seasonably Cool

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A ridge of high pressure building into Manitoba will usher in breezy northerly winds for Winnipeg and temperatures sightly below normal for mid-May.

Today will start off with overcast skies as a deck of stratus cloud pushes southwards through the region. The cloudy conditions will be made worse by northerly winds strengthening to 40-50 km/h with gusts to around 60 km/h. Skies will clear out in the afternoon, letting some sunshine through and helping temperatures reach a high near 14°C. Any remaining cloud will clear out tonight as temperatures drop to a low near +2°C with breezy northerly winds of 30-40 km/h.

An area of strong winds will develop over Southern Manitoba & the Northern Plains as air moves out of a high in Saskatchewan into a low heading towards Wisconsin.

Thursday will see the centre of the high pressure system move into southern Manitoba. It will bring sunny skies and cool temperatures with a high near 14°C once again in Winnipeg, but those northerly winds will continue into the afternoon across the Red River Valley at 30 gusting 50 km/h.1 The winds will quickly taper off in the evening as Winnipeg heads to an overnight low near +2°C once again under clear skies.

On Friday, the ridge of high pressure will start departing off to the east, taking the colder air and breezy winds with it. This will allow temperatures to rebound back towards near-seasonal with Winnipeg seeing a daytime high near 18°C. While the day will start of sunny, some cloud cover will build into the region in the afternoon. Friday night will bring mixed to cloudy skies, light winds and a low near 6°C.

Long Range

The weekend is looking fairly pleasant with variable cloudiness and near-seasonal temperatures. There are some indications in the long-range models that the next chance for rain will arrive early next week, but confidence at this point is quite low. Otherwise, the weather will be consistent, if nothing else, over the coming week, with continued near-seasonal temperatures and variable cloudiness.

Winnipeg’s seasonal daytime high is currently 20°C while the seasonal overnight low is 6°C.

  1. Southwestern Manitoba will see relief earlier, with winds tapering off to around 15-20 km/h midday Thursday. ↩

Winnipeg Dodged The Weekend Rain, But Another Chance On The Way

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Winnipeg managed to eke out a fairly pleasant Sunday with a cloudy morning giving way to sunny breaks in the afternoon as temperatures climbed up into the low 20’s. Showers that had the potential to impact the city ended up splitting as they entered the Red River Valley; one area headed to the north and across the Interlake while a second area of showers moved through North Dakota. Another chance for rain is on the way, though, with a low pressure system forecast to move through the region on Tuesday.

Attention now turns towards a developing low pressure system in Wyoming that will organize through the day today, strengthen tonight, and then move through the region on Tuesday.

Today will bring increasing cloud cover, particularly through the afternoon, but otherwise will be a pleasant day with a high near 22°C and relatively light winds. Tonight will bring mixed to cloudy skies with a low near 12°C as the low pressure system builds into North Dakota.

Tuesday’s forecast has a lot of room for error, but we’ll take a stab at broad generalities here. The short version: expect cloudy skies with a very good chance of seeing rain and/or thunderstorms beginning mid- to late-morning and tapering off in the late afternoon or early evening. Winds will pick up out of the north to northwest through the day to around 40 km/h as the low pressure centre moves through the Lake of the Woods region. Temperatures will top out near 15 or 16°C and drop to a low near 7°C on Wednesday night.

Some forecasts hint as much as 25-40*mm* of rain in the Red River Valley on Tuesday.

The long version: everything begins on Monday night as an area of thunderstorms develops across western North Dakota on the northern side of the surface low. These storms should expand in coverage through the night, spreading east-northeastwards along a warm front draped southwest-to-northeast across the state. This area of convective rainfall will spread into southwestern Manitoba late Monday night into Tuesday morning, then spread eastwards into the Red River Valley. At this point, there may be thunderstorms still embedded in the area of rainfall, but that risk will diminish through the morning. The rain will move eastwards through the day, then taper off in the late afternoon. With the convective nature of the rainfall, accumulations may end up being highly variable, but overall it seems like 10-20mm is quite likely, with higher amounts possible on a more localized level.

Now this is all fairly prone to error; primarily, a strong low-level jet is expected to develop across South Dakota along the eastern quadrant of the low, which may end up being a foci for thunderstorm development and rob this system of moisture that would have travelled further northwest or pull this system eastwards slightly faster, possibly causing the rain to pass to the southeast of the Red River Valley.

On Wednesday, the winds will remain gusty out of the north with temperatures climbing to a high, optimistically, near 11°C. Skies will start off fairly cloudy, but gradually break up a bit for the afternoon. Significant clearing will likely hold off until the overnight period as temperatures drop to a low near 2°C.

The remainder of the week looks dry with highs slightly below-seasonal and a fair amount of sunshine.

Winnipeg’s seasonal daytime high is currently 20°C while the seasonal overnight low is 5°C.

Temperatures Moderate as Sunshine Returns

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The coming days will bring an end to the persistent blustery north-northeast winds and a return to seasonal temperatures.

Temperatures will remain a bit cool today as a breezy northerly wind persists for one more day, continuing to tap into cooler Arctic air. Temperatures will climb to a high near 10°C with northerly winds increasing to 30-40 km/h. While it won’t be as windy as yesterday—winds reached peak of 52 gusting 69 km/h in the afternoon—the wind will still be fairly noticeable and making it feel cool. Skies will be partly cloudy as Winnipeg lies on the edge of the cloud shield of the departing Ontario low that has been largely shaping our weather the past few days.

Expect a low near -2°C under mainly clear skies tonight with light winds.

Temperatures will return to seasonal values for Saturday across Southern Manitoba

Saturday will be a welcome break from the weather of the past week with mainly sunny skies sending temperatures to a high near 15°C. Winds will start off light, but pick up to around 30 km/h out of the south for the afternoon as a weak disturbance tracks through the Interlake.

Expect a low near 3°C on Saturday night with diminishing winds and mainly clear skies.

Sunday will be more of the same with plenty of sunshine, a high near 16°C and light winds.

Long Range

The long-range forecast looks like a bit of a mixed bag. Temperatures will return to slightly below-seasonal with daytime highs in the low teens and variable cloudiness. It appears that by mid-week, conditions may begin to get a little more unsettled as another major low pressure system moves through Ontario while a secondary storm track across the Prairies begins getting more active. At this point, no big storms are on the horizon, but it’s worth noting we may see an increased chance for precipitation through the second half of next week.

Enjoy the weekend!

Winnipeg’s seasonal daytime high is currently 15°C while the seasonal overnight low is 2°C.