Thanks to a clipper system moving in tonight, we'll likely just creep up above -20°C late this afternoon or this evening. This clipper system will bring some snow overnight tonight and tomorrow morning with 1-2 cm possible, AT MOST. Not a major system by any means and conditions are not ideal for a heavy snowfall. However, another cold front passes midday tomorrow and that will usher in strong winds of 30 to 40 km/h which will create blowing and drifting snow on highways. Travel unrecommended once again tomorrow afternoon as a result.
Extremely cold air, some of the coldest so far this winter, will be ushered in Friday night. Lows on Saturday morning will likely resemble those of this morning's, albeit it may even get a couple degrees colder. Lows between -35 and -38°C in the Winnipeg area not out of the question. Temperatures will struggle to rise on Saturday with highs likely only in the mid -20's. We have a very good chance at breaking a record low maximum for the day considering the old record low maximum is -22.2°C in 1972.
Unfortunately, the cold is expected to dominate for at least the next 2 weeks. There will likely be some brief warmups, but in general cold is expected to win out.
February summary to come this evening or tomorrow, and the winter summary will be posted on Saturday. I have gathered some interesting stats for the winter summary so be sure to come visit!
*****Correction: Originally I stated in this post that the all-time record low maximum in March was -25.0°C on March 9, 1948. However, I made a mistake, the record is actually -26.7°C on March 7, 1880.
Just realised there was an error in the March temperature records table in my record books. Turns out the all-time low maximum record in March is actually -26.7°C on March 7, 1880 and not -25.0°C on March 9, 1948. The error has now been corrected in the record books. Breaking this record looks even more difficult now for this Saturday.
ReplyDeleteJJ, i'm hearing rumblings of a warmup around or just after the 9th of March. What are your thoughts on that?
ReplyDeleteThanks, Anon
I've heard a lot of those rumblings as well. There likely will be some warming come the second week of March, but I am doubtful we're talking about a dramatic turn to above normal temperatures. Similar rumblings occurred for a warmup in late February, and that only turned out to last a couple days... we'll have to wait a few more days to see if this is the case again.
DeleteI see this winter will be the coldest since 1978-79. If I recall correctly, the following winter in 1979-80 (and especially the spring) was one of the warmest on record. I might be wrong, but I definitely recall the spring of 1980 as record breaking warm. Can you verify this, or have I become delusional with this cold? Maybe something to look forward too in a years time?? (Yes I'm desperate for good news on the weather front!).
ReplyDeleteThe winter of 1979-80 averaged -14.8°C which only ties for 43rd warmest winter since 1872. But you are correct to think that it was much warmer than the previous winter considering it was a full 6 degrees warmer.
DeleteSpring 1980 averaged 4.5°C or tied 22nd warmest spring. However, back then it would have been considered 9th warmest if we ignored all the years afterwards from 1981-2013... therefore you would be correct in remembering it as a fairly warm spring!
Actually, that spring (1980) featured the hottest April temperatures ever recorded here with a high of 34.3°C on April 21. Perhaps you remember that? There was also an impressive heat wave in May when temperatures reached 30 to 37°C for 9 consecutive days!
DeleteDid those winds gusting to 75 to 80 Km/h (Rousea & Warroad Mn) etc. and temperatures near -40 C & F nearby in Sprague MB produce record cold WC values for southern Mb as well?
DeleteThose near -40°C readings yesterday were associated with very light winds therefore wind chills were not a huge factor and therefore not record breaking.
DeleteNice map JJ. Note also that we had a couple of climate station reports come in via COOLTAP, with lows of -42.0C in Rennie, -40.5C in Pinawa, and -40.0C in Indian Bay, near Falcon lake.
ReplyDeleteThanks Rob, will add them to the map... not sure how to access the COOLTAP obs however.
DeleteGoing to be an interesting, yet torturous day out there tomorrow. Hard to believe it will be the first day of March! It could potentially be one the coldest March days in history as we flirt with all-time March lows; lows deep into the -30's tonight and highs around -26°C tomorrow. Just to add salt to the wound, it's looking breezy tomorrow afternoon with winds of 20 km/h giving biting wind chills.
ReplyDeleteCold continues for a few days more -30°C nights possible Sunday and Monday morning.
Also note winds will be increasing behind a cold front this afternoon with blowing and drifting snow in open areas this afternoon.
Wont be posting the February summary until around midnight because some of the stats I have depend on how cold we get this evening.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, thanks for voting in the poll! A decent turnout! Average voting is approximately -36°C. I'm personally calling for something around -36°C to -37°C.
ReplyDeleteModels continue to hint at warmup starting Thursday and even goes beyond next weekend. Let's hope this is true because it's fine time that me move on to some other weather than these January like temps.
ReplyDelete