Winter Hangs On Stubbornly....

     After a messy day yesterday with ice pellets, snow pellets, snow and rain, temperatures will be taking a ridiculous plunge in the next few days. To recap yesterday, 2-3 cm of snow fell over Winnipeg, while a general 2-9 cm appears to have fallen across the RRV with localized higher amounts as per Rob's Blog.

     Now, we plunge back into winter with temperatures flirting with record lows for the next 3-4 days. Overnight lows will plunge into the minus teens Monday through to at least Thursday, while daytime highs will remain below zero in the mid minus single digits. On some nights, we may dip into the mid minus teens or colder. If we drop below -16.7°C, it would be the coldest temperature for so late in the season since 1872... Quite the impressive cold snap we've got to deal with. The following table shows the record lows and record low maximums for the next few days for you to refer to:

Date	Record low	Record low maximum
Apr 14	-16.7°C (1893)	-7.8°C (1880)
Apr 15	-16.7°C (1893)	-6.7°C (1875)
Apr 16	-16.7°C (1875)	-4.4°C (1910)
Apr 17	-13.3°C (1953)	-3.3°C (1953)

     It appears likely we'll see some warming by Easter Weekend... however, the magnitude of the warmup is in question. Unfortunately, an extended period of above normal temperatures is still nowhere in sight.

     Note that normal highs this week are in the 11-13°C range and normal lows around -1°C to -2°C (1981-2010 normal). As a result, we will be a good 15°C below normal and our daytime highs will be colder than our normal lows this week.

Enjoy The Warmth While It Lasts.....

     A surge of warmer air has moved into southern Manitoba for today... but it wont last. Highs today are tough to forecast due to remaining snow pack, but highs around 10°C are looking likely in Winnipeg today nonetheless. More like mid to high teens along the US border to our south where snow is almost gone. A cold front will pass mid or late afternoon and with it, strong westerly winds over 40 km/h are possible with gusts to 60 or 70 km/h. Some showers will be possible with the front, especially to our north and south. Even a rumble of thunder may occur to our south; best chance along the US border. I don't think we'll see any in Winnipeg I'm sorry to say.

     We cool down for tomorrow, likely only reaching between 3 and 5°C at Winnipeg airport. A brief push of warmer air on Friday will bring us into the high single digits again.

     BAD NEWS! An arctic front passes through Friday night, which will usher in unseasonably cold conditions for this time of year. Temperatures some 7-12°C below normal are expected this weekend and for part of next week as a result. We may potentially struggle to exceed the freezing mark for daytime highs on some days, especially on the weekend. By then normal highs will be around 10 to 11°C. Some models even bring in some snow on the weekend, but not all, so there's still some uncertainty about that. All we can hope for right now is that most of the snow pack melts in the next few days...

     It is unclear how long the cool down will last, but there are hints of getting a little warmer by the end of next week.

Spring!

     Well deserved warmth is finally arriving to southern Manitoba... Winnipeg airport reached 4.9°C today, the warmest day since November, but still a degree or two below normal.

Brighter days are ahead after 5 months of gloom

     Tomorrow will be a similar day to today albeit potentially a bit cloudier with a high around 4 to 6°C at the airport. Monday will be similar again, except possibly a degree or two colder. Thankfully, winds look light.

     A surge of warmer air moves in Tuesday and Wednesday ahead of a clipper system to our north. Highs in the high single digits are expected on Tuesday, but Wednesday will be the warmest. It is hard to say just how warm it will get on Wednesday due to our remaining snow pack but double digit highs are a real possibility nonetheless. It is even possible that we may not even drop below zero Tuesday night.

     Beyond that, it appears we'll be cooling down, but thankfully not back to winter-like conditions. So far, generally below normal temperatures are expected mid month at this point. Note that normal highs reach 10°C by next Friday. Therefore, anything in the single digits will be below normal by then!