It could be called weather whiplash.
Winnipeggers are wondering what hit them after the temperature ping-ponged from a high of almost 4 C on Saturday, to a low of -32.4 C Thursday morning and a forecast high of -5 C this Sunday.
Winnipeggers may need to trade their scarves for a neck brace.
MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS
Visibility in downtown Winnipeg was poor Tuesday morning thanks to early-morning snowfall. Winnipeggers experienced a 36 C change in less than a week with temperatures plummeting from 4 C on Saturday, to -32 C on Thursday.
Stephen Berg, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, said Thursday was so cold across the province that a notable longstanding temperature record fell and another one was tied.
“Dauphin reached -34 C which was about a degree below the previous record of -33 in 1932,” said Berg.
“In Pilot Mound, they tied the record of -32.5 set in 2013.”
As for Winnipeg, Berg said the frigid temps didn’t set a record. The record low for Dec. 12 is -37 C, which was set in 1995.
Berg said the arrival of high and low pressure systems sparked the quick-changing temperatures.
“The last couple of days, we’ve had a ridge of Arctic high pressure which is bringing a lot of cold air from the north,” he said.
“There’s a low pressure system, that’s coming across for the weekend, going from southern Alberta towards northwestern Ontario. That’s a shift in direction from the current northerlies generally to coming from the southerly direction come tomorrow afternoon into the evening.
“That will bring quite a bit more warmth up towards us from the south.”
Although the current forecast high for Sunday is -5 C, it could be even warmer — possibly hitting 0 C, Berg said.
“Right now, we are quite a bit below normal,” he said. “Normal is a high of -10 C and a low of -19 C so, with a low of about -33 C overnight, being about 14 degrees below normal, that’s quite an outlier, but these things happen.”
After Sunday’s balmy weather, brace for another drop. Daytime high will be in the mid- to high teens.
“The weekend will be a bit warmer than the work week temperatures next week, but it is hard to say beyond that,” he said.
kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
Kevin Rollason
Reporter
Kevin Rollason is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He graduated from Western University with a Masters of Journalism in 1985 and worked at the Winnipeg Sun until 1988, when he joined the Free Press. He has served as the Free Press’s city hall and law courts reporter and has won several awards, including a National Newspaper Award. Read more about Kevin.
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