Prairie Weather (Rural Roots Canada) – Active weather returns to the prairies, with new snow on the way.
Thursday
Alberta
Quiet weather continues in Alberta on Thursday, with another sunny, calm, warm day, with temperatures will range from 0-10 degrees in the afternoon. As one may expect, the warmest region extends from Calgary south to the US border and east to Medicine Hat. No significant weather is expected in Alberta Thursday.
Saskatchewan
If you think of an imaginary line north-south, bisecting Saskatchewan down the middle, west of the line, highs will reach 0 to 5 degrees, and east of the line 0 to -5. Near Maple Creek, it could be even warmer, with highs ranging from 5 to 10. It will be mild, with a light westerly wind. Other than a few afternoon flurries along Highway 16 between Saskatoon and the Manitoba boundary, there won’t be much in the way of active weather in Saskatchewan on Thursday.
Manitoba
Behind the Wednesday cold front, it will be considerably cooler Thursday in Manitoba. From the Interlake into northern Manitoba, temperatures will fall below average, with highs of -10 to -15. Across Southern Manitoba, highs will be within a few degrees of -5. In the late afternoon and early evening, a weak disturbance will bring snow in from central Saskatchewan. In the late afternoon, the snow will stretch along a thin line from Dauphin to Falcon Lake. Into the evening, that line of snow will move south, affecting most of southern Manitoba. It’ll be light snow, won’t last long, leaving little accumulation behind.
Friday
Alberta
The mild Pacific air that has brought warm weather to Alberta ever since the snow ended Monday, will become even warmer on Friday. From Calgary to Lethbridge, southern Alberta has a chance at double digit high temperatures, and in the rest of the province, high temperatures are expected to exceed the melting point. The westerly wind that has prevailed thus far during the week, will shift to the WSW, pushing the mild air to the far northern reaches of the province. There continues to be no drought relief, as the entire province will be under a mainly sunny sky with no significant weather event.
Saskatchewan
The westerly wind continues, and warm Pacific air continues to dominate with temperatures rising to nearly 10 degrees in southwestern Saskatchewan, and reaching a range between 0 and 5 degrees across the rest of the province. A weak low near the town of Hudson Bay, Saskatchewan, will bring snow to north central Saskatchewan in the afternoon. The system will be quite weak, and snowfall is expected to be light.
Manitoba
After Thursday’s colder weather, mild air returns, and temperatures climb above the melting point in southwestern and west central Manitoba. Elsewhere, high temperatures will range from 0 to -10. A low in west central Saskatchewan will generate snow through the afternoon in most of Manitoba north of Lake Manitoba. As the low moves across central Manitoba, snow will continue to fall in the interlake and northeastern Manitoba, moving southward toward the Red River Valley. Snowfall amounts are expected to be light, except perhaps, over the southern basin of Lake Winnipeg during the evening, where the snow will fall harder near the centre of the Low.
Saturday
Alberta
The weekend will be very warm across the prairies. On Saturday, with a westerly wind continuing to bring in mild Pacific air, temperatures in southern and central Alberta will climb into double digits. In many areas, particularly around Edmonton and Athabasca, this could be the warmest day so far this season. Only in the far northern reaches of Alberta are temperatures expected to remain below zero all day long. And in that same northern area, it will snow. A weak Low will travel across northern Alberta Saturday, bringing snow to the forests of the far north. No beneficial moisture is expected in agricultural regions.
Saskatchewan
A low pressure system in northern Alberta will move into Saskatchewan Saturday afternoon, and will spread snow across the northern third of the province. The wet weather is not expected to reach agricultural regions in central and southern Saskatchewan. South of the snowy weather, it will be a warm day, with temperatures above the melting point. West of Moose Jaw, along and south of the Trans Canada highway, temperatures are expected to climb into the teens during the afternoon.
Manitoba
Warm conditions are expected across the province, especially south of the lakes, and between Lakes Manitoba and Winnipegosis and the Saskatchewan boundary. To the north, highs in the 0 to -5 range are anticipated. The day will begin with dry weather, but in the afternoon, snow from a Low in northcentral Saskatchewan will move into Manitoba, and by midnight, there will be a widespread area of snow north of the Lakes, and between Lake Winnipeg and the Ontario boundary. Southern Manitoba’s farmland is not expected to receive any of the snow.
Sunday
Alberta
After a long string of quiet weather days, active weather returns to parts of Alberta.
A low pressure system, known as an Alberta Clipper will form Sunday morning just northeast of Banff. To the north, snow is expected, with estimated totals shown on the map above. The heaviest snow is expected to fall near Jasper. The system will provide beneficial snow to the agricultural areas in the Peace Region and near Grande Prairie, and to the farms north of Edmonton. Unfortunately, the drier areas of central and southwestern Alberta won’t receive quite as much moisture on Sunday. There are indications, though, that as the Clipper moves toward southern Saskatchewan on Monday, it will pull its moisture into central and southern Alberta. South of the snowy regions shown in the above map, it will get quite warm, with temperatures reaching the high teens east of Highway 23, the low teens are expected elsewhere across most of southern and central Alberta.
Saskatchewan
As the map above indicates, most of Saskatchewan will be dry on Sunday. And, as the map below shows, Sunday afternoon will be quite warm across the southern 2/3 of the province. In southwestern Saskatchewan, it will be exceptionally warm.
The above map shows temperatures expected in the mid-afternoon. Most of the province will be dry, and the south will be mainly sunny. There is, though, a chance of a few scattered snow showers in central Saskatchewan in the early afternoon. It’s just a chance, and if it happens, snowfall amounts will be minor.
Manitoba
A low pressure system crossing central Manitoba will spread snow to central and northern regions of the province on Sunday. The low will zip through quite fast, so accumulations should remain under 10 cm. In the south, a west to northwest wind prevails, and as the temperature map shows, highs above the melting point are expected in the southern half of the province, with double digit highs possible in the Red River Valley.
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