HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Snow and Colder weather arriving this weekend.

Happy new years everyone, I am so happy to be back with being able to do weather updates. I hope you had a amazing winter holidays. I am also continuing to work with Justin Oretel on Manitoba weather centre. I am one of the team members along with Justin. Anyways some interesting weather is ahead for southern sections of the province as a low pressure system moves in and ushers in a unseasonably cold airmass in behind it. Much of the region already has experienced one of the warmest and driest ever Decembers on record with very little in the way of cold snaps. That pattern looks likely to change as the AO or arctic oscillation switches to negative resulting in a much weaker jetsttream over the northern half of the country. Find out what that means for us below. 

Tonight (above): Snow and flurries will persist over much of southern Manitoba tonight as a low pressure system moves over areas just south of the border, a clipper system tonight will more than likely bring upwards of 5-10cm of snow tonight over areas of the southern half of Manitoba. Interlakes regions will see about 5 to 14cm of snow as a possibility. Areas in eastern Manitoba will likely drop into the high minus single digits. Areas in the western half of Manitoba will also see temperatures in the low to mid minus teens. 

Saturday: Snow should begin to clear the region by the afternoon hours with mostly cloudy to partly cloudy skies resulting behind the system. Temperatures over the red river valley and eastern Manitoba will more than likely see high temperatures in the low to mid minus single digits. Areas in extreme southwestern Manitoba will see high temperatures above minus 10 degrees Celsius, areas north of highway number two into the interlakes and central parts in Manitoba will see daytime high values below minus 10 degrees Celsius from -10 to -15C Celsius . Saturday night: A much colder airmass will take over with overnight low values in the mid minus teens and some areas if there is enough of a northwest wind may see lows around -20C. 

The reason for this cold blast can be attributed to a weaker jet stream around the poles resulting in cold air filtering south until now that cold has been locked up in Siberia and Russia, this negative Arctic oscilation may be reverting back to positive by the end of January which may help bring the warmth back in , EL nino is still running strong in the pacific. 

Sunday: Warm weather will return on the day Sunday ahead of another area of low pressure that will impact southern Manitoba. Temperatures on the day Sunday will rise into the upper single digits around minus 6 to minus 10 degrees celsius areas north of highway one and the lakes may see high temperature values and the low minus teens. A large swath of snow will move into Western Manitoba and the Interlakes on Sunday afternoon bringing heavy bands of snow at times with a possibility of total accumulations from this weekend rising from nine centimeters to as much as 16 to 20 centimeters in the parklands of western Manitoba into the Interlakes down South into Lake Winnipeg north basin. Snow will also cover areas of the Red River valley and parts of Western, Southwestern Manitoba into southeast Manitoba with only about a trace to two centimeters in those regions Areas of extreme southeastern Manitoba may escape snowfall on Sunday and Sunday evening.. Sunday overnight the cold behind the low pressure system will begin to move across the Prairie provinces including Winnipeg with overnight low values exceeding minus 10 degrees Celsius being below normal for the first time in several weeks, low temperature values will likely drop into the mid to high minus teens with windchill values in the minus twenties .

For those wondering is snowfall total information about snowfall in their region I have attached a snowfall total graphic above with information about how much and where majority of the snow will fall, if you guys have any questions feel free to leave them in the comments section on the weather center of Manitoba. To recap it looks like the main swath of the heavy snowfall will remain north of highway 67 and the Trans Canada Highway over Central Lake Manitoba and Central Lake Winnipeg there is a possibility that this heavy snowfall axis may shift based on where the cold air establishes itself. Usually with snow fall you need extremely cold air and moisture being able to funnel into the system usually in the north side of lows.

The week ahead: The same cold weather persists with periods of more normal temperatures during the day Wednesday. High temperatures in the low to mid teens is more than likely with overnight lows in the upper minus teens and low minus 20's.