Winnipeg to see above seasonal temperatures this weekend after extreme cold snap

Manitoba and northwestern Ontario felt some relief Friday after an extreme cold snap swept through the area. 

The culprit was an artic ridge of high pressure that has weakened and moved east, bringing an end to a bitterly cold couple of days and nights.

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) says Carberry, Carman, Pilot Mound and Roblin set low temperature records when temperatures plummeted on Thursday morning.

The temperature in Roblin dropped to a breathtaking -37.1 C, breaking the previous record of -35.5 C set in 2000.

While Winnipeg saw the coldest hourly temperature recorded at ECCC’s airport station in 2024 so far, at -32.4 C at 6 a.m. yesterday, no records were set in the city.

Today is a different story, with more bearable daytime highs across Manitoba and northwestern Ontario in the mid-minus teens.

That said, Friday afternoon with be windy across southern and central Manitoba. However, the winds are coming from the south, flooding the province with much milder air.

The region will feel a big difference by the weekend, but it comes with a catch -- the sunshine under the artic ridge this week will give way to cloudy conditions all weekend in Winnipeg.

Still, Saturday’s forecast daytime high for the city is - 6 C, three degrees above normal for mid-December.

By Sunday, temperatures will soar close to the freezing mark.

Snow is likely in the city by Sunday night.