Colleen Bready's forecast: Mild temperatures sweeping across Manitoba

A winter wonderland on a path in Manitou, Man. on Dec. 23, 2024. (Tracey Crawford)

Manitoba is on Santa’s nice list on Monday with mild temperatures for late December.

Conditions across the entire province are much the same: mostly cloudy with southern winds and daytime highs between -7 C and -10 C. The cooler temperatures as the outliers.

However, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) has issued a fog advisory for southwestern regions this afternoon.

The weather agency said dense fog was reported over much of the Prairies this morning. It will thin out to a certain extent this afternoon, but will likely continue in many areas and redevelop this evening.

ECCC also notes, however, that visibility is good in some regions, but they are transient in nature.

The advisory does not include Winnipeg, but fog patches are possible in the city today and this evening, too.

A surface ridge of high pressure over the province needs to shift further east to ease to clear out the fog entirely, which will likely not happen until Tuesday.

Ahead tonight, clouds will stick around much of Manitoba. Several northern regions will see mild temperatures today rise even higher overnight. Across the south, overnight lows will either hold steady from today’s temperatures or drop off slightly.

Mild conditions are expected to persist the rest of this holiday week in Winnipeg, which will make for a pleasant journey for Santa.

Christmas Eve on Tuesday and Christmas Day on Wednesday will be on the cloudier side, but temperatures will climb very close to the freezing mark, perhaps even slightly above it.

Boxing Day shoppers will also appreciate above-seasonal temperatures on Thursday.