Monday, January 29, 2018

Get ready for a wintery blast Tuesday! Strong winds and snow with blowing snow and poor visibilities on the way for Winnipeg and RRV

Intense clipper system will be tracking across central MB
Tuesday bring snow, strong winds to much of the province.
Winds/blowing snow will be the main issue for RRV
An intense clipper system will be tracking across Manitoba Tuesday bringing strong winds and snow to much of the province. Here in Winnipeg and the Red River valley, winds will be the main story rather than snowfall Tuesday, especially through the midday and afternoon hours when southerly winds will be howling up the valley gusting to 70 or even 80 km/h. These winds, combined with loose and falling snow, will lead to widespread blowing and drifting snow with poor to blizzard-like conditions in the open country. Keep this in mind if you plan on being on the roads tomorrow. Snowfall amounts with this system will be highest over the Interlake and central MB, where 10-20 cm of snow is possible.. while amounts here in Winnipeg and the RRV will be in the 5 cm range. Snowfall amounts however will be impossible to measure accurately as winds will be so strong here in the RRV, with extensive drifting. Winds shift into the NW behind the system by Tuesday evening, with gusts of 60-70 kmh at times bringing colder temperatures for the rest of the week. 
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14 comments:

  1. rob4:44 PM, January 29, 2018

    Looks like snowband will be moving into Winnipeg just in time for the morning rush hour.. around 7-8 am, and continuing through the morning before it tapers off by early afternoon. Worst of the blowing snow (and poorest visibilities) will be mid morning to early afternoon when the strongest winds are occurring together with the falling snow. Vsbys should improve by mid afternoon as the band of snow moves off, and we get into a bit of a warm sector with our temperature climbing to a high of -2C by supperttime. Winds then shift in the NW in the evening, and although gusty (60-70 km/h) I don't think they'll be as strong as the southerlies during the day (gusting 70-80 km/h), at least here in Winnipeg.

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  2. Anonymous7:00 AM, January 30, 2018

    How many days did we hit -20 last year and what is the total for 2018 so far?

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    1. rob6:37 PM, January 30, 2018

      YWG airport has had 16 -20C days so far this month, and likely 1 more tomorrow so we'll have 17 for January. That compares to 13 last January. We had 40 -20C days in all of 2017.

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    2. rob5:19 PM, January 31, 2018

      If you're comparing this winter with last winter, we had 41 -20C days last winter. So far this winter, we've had 31 -20C days as of Jan 31, 3 more than at the same point last year.

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  3. rob1:20 PM, January 30, 2018

    Winds howling out there with gusts to 80 km/h at YWG airport as of 1245 pm. Southerly winds are the strongest here in the city due to funnelling up the Red river valley. Winds will drop off later today as we briefly get into the warm sector, before shifting into the NW behind the cold front this evening. Forecast still calls for gusts to 80 km/h behind the cold front, but I'm thinking more like 60-70 km/h. The southerlies are the worst wind with this system for Winnipeg..

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  4. rob6:50 PM, January 30, 2018

    We're briefly getting into the warm sector this evening as winds shift into the southwest and tap some of that mild air that flooded over SW MB this afternoon (up to +7C in Melita) Temperatures are up to -4C as of 630 pm and will continue to rise to about -2C by 7 pm before cold front passes through between 7-8 pm. Winds will then gust out of the west to NW up to 70 km/h with blowing snow redeveloping outside the city. Shouldn't be as widespread or bad as it was today with winds dropping off a bit overnight.

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  5. rob10:36 PM, January 30, 2018

    Winds settling down as of 1030 pm.. about 40-60 kmh in Winnipeg and across the RRV. Blowing snow not much of an issue now as webcams show good visibility in most areas. Blowing snow advisory remains in effect, but worst of it is pretty much over now.

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  6. Todd8:24 AM, January 31, 2018

    Thanks Rob. Appreciate all the updates you provide.

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  7. rob11:30 AM, January 31, 2018

    Another brisk day today with gusty northwest winds as Arctic high pressure builds into the Prairies. Forecast for Winnipeg calls for NW winds of 50G70 km/h but I think that's overdone for us.. more like 40G60 km/h. Local areas of blowing snow today, but nothing like yesterday, and webcams show generally good visibility with some drifting snow on roadways. Prime area for blowing snow in NW flow would be in the Elie to Emerson corridor where NW winds funnel off Lake Manitoba and down the Red River valley.

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  8. sanity and reason6:26 AM, February 01, 2018

    how much snow this winter?

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    1. rob7:49 AM, February 01, 2018

      Here in Winnipeg, we've had 51 cm of snow this winter as of Jan 31st. Average snowfall in Winnipeg by the end of January is 72 cm, so we're a good 20 cm below average right now. January only saw 11 cm, lowest January snow here since 2008 (3.8 cm)

      Note that these snowfall observations are from my station in Charleswood. EC no longer takes snowfall observations at the airport (since about 2006), so my snowfall obs are considered official numbers for Winnipeg. (I submit them to EC daily and they are entered in the EC climate archives as official data. I'm currently the only official snowfall observer in Winnipeg recognized by EC)

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  9. Anonymous9:55 AM, February 01, 2018

    Rob, it seems we are headed towards a very cold February here in Southern Manitoba.

    What are your thoughts on this?

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    1. rob11:08 PM, February 03, 2018

      Unfortunately that’s what it’s looking like, at least for the first half of the month. There are hints of the cold easing for the second half but it looks like we’re going to be below normal much of the month. I don’t see anything in the upper pattern right now to suggest a flip to above normal temperatures anytime soon.

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