Extreme Cold Weather Sticks Around

 I just want to wish you all a belated merry Christmas and a happy new year, I know I haven’t been on here in about 2 weeks time. I have had a lot of things happen over the holidays, spent time with family and got some really nice gifts. Overall My hope is that I can keep you all updated on weather events throughout the new year. May 2022 bring good things to you all and for the Christian’s out there may God give you a wonderful year. 

(Above: A very cold airmass will sit over the region over the next few days, that area of purple is a polar vortex sitting over the Canadian prairies).

As for our weather over the next few days into the new year and our weekend ahead, it’ll definitely feel like winter. A arctic area of high pressure has begun to settle into our area, it’s also a part of a polar vortex broken off that is moving through the prairies. This will lead to some of the coldest temperatures we have seen in a long time. Read more and Find out how cold it will get and find out how long this will last for. 

Friday Night: Clear skies and a arctic airmass sitting over the region will aid in temperatures dropping well into the low minus 30’s for a majority of the region,  from -30 to -34C with the coldest lows happening in the red river valley and sections of southwestern Manitoba closer to -35C. Much of the windchill values will exceed -40C, with values from the low to high minus 40C range. The coldest of the values will be sitting right over top of southwestern Manitoba where low windchills could get as cold as -47C. Keep in mind the low temperatures will be reached shortly before sunrise around 8am. 

Saturday: Will end up being super cold in the morning hours, as previously mentioned. A small system will move through central portions of Manitoba during the afternoon bringing a chance for some flurries by Dauphin regions, and along with this some light cloudcover. Temperatures will soar into the low to mid minus 20’s for all regions (-20 to -26C) with some places a degree or 2 colder if your in southwestern Manitoba. Windchill values will exceed minus 30C with a majority of the region seeing windchills in the low to high minus 30’s (-31C to -38C). The coldest of the values being felt in the parklands towards southwestern Manitoba, over the Manitoba lakes and portage la Prairie regions.

Saturday Night: An area of high pressure will move east southeast in the northern states the good news is that it will start ushering in a slightly warmer airmass, temperatures will not be as extreme as they were on Friday night. However , we’re still going to see some fairly low temperatures in the low minus 30Cs (-30 to -34C), windchill values will only drop into the low to mid minus 30’s in the southwest and the southeast. Areas in the red river valley can expect to see low windchill values in the -36 to -40C range. 

Sunday and Sunday Night: Some good news is that a warm front will approach the region as a clipper system of the sorts forms over the Rockies and drifts eastwards, ahead of this warm weather will start moving into the area. Cloudier skies are likely, with the chance of some flurries mainly in the afternoon . Temperatures on Sunday will rise into the low minus single digits in the southwest and western half of Manitoba (-10 to -14C). Areas further east like the white shell and the red river valley will see highs rising into the mid to high minus teens (-15 to -18C). Windchill will still be a factor where the high minus teens and low 20’s (-15 to -22C) is a possibility for the western half of Manitoba and eastern Manitoba seeing mid to high minus 20s (-22 to -28C). Cloudier skies are likely on Sunday night, Overnight low temperatures on Sunday night will warm well into the mid to high minus teens (-14 to -18C), with some areas out towards Dauphin seeing lows a few degrees below minus 10C. Unfortunately if your looking for spring warmth you won’t find it, windchills will still drop below -20C (-20 to -25C) in the southeastern half of Manitoba, the red river valley into some patches of southwestern Manitoba and the interlakes. Areas elsewhere will only see moderate windchills in the mid minus teens to the high minus teens (-14 to -19C). 

The beginning of the week: The forecast gets a bit tricky, southern sections of Manitoba and the province itself will be affected by another area of low pressure the question is how much of an impact it’ll have on our area. Current model guidance is only suggesting a brief batch of snowfall with max of 5cm. Temperatures will remain quite mild with highs on Monday in the lower minus teens (-10 to -15C). Windchills still sitting in the upper minus teens (-15 to -20C). A much colder batch of arctic air will filter in on Tuesday and Wednesday with highs in the mid to low minus teens and lows in the high minus teens, windchills of minus 20 to -35C are also possible. It will not be as severe as it was on the weekend. 

Happy New Year!!!