Winter arrives in southern Manitoba.. more snow on the way Saturday night into Sunday..

An Alberta clipper brought the season's first widespread snowfall over much of southern Manitoba Thursday into Thursday night, including Winnipeg where about 10 cm of snow was reported by Friday morning. General snowfall amounts of 10-15 cm were recorded mainly along and north of the TransCanada into the Interlake regions with 20-30 cm over the Riding Mountain Park area. Behind the system, cold northwest winds produced snowsqualls off Lake Manitoba and Lake Winnipeg Friday, bringing additional snow and poor visibilities southeast of the lakes (see Doppler image left) In Winnipeg, the squalls off Lake Manitoba mainly affected the southwest portion of the city with another 3-5 cm of new snow and whiteout conditions at times. Things will clear up tonight as a ridge of high pressure builds in from the west.. and that will mean a very cold night on the way as temperatures drop into the minus 20s for the first time since last winter.

After a break Saturday, it looks like another general snowfall is on the way Saturday night into Sunday as a storm system tracks across North Dakota and spreads another wave of snow over southern Manitoba. This system has the potential to produce another 5-10 cm of snow across Winnipeg and the Red River valley with up to 15 cm possible along the US border and SE Manitoba. Like it or not.. winter has arrived in southern Manitoba!

Snowfall reports past 24 hours..

Winnipeg.... 10 cm
Portage....... 10 cm
Brandon...... 10 cm
Dauphin ..... 17 cm
Gilbert Plains..... 20 cm
Rossburn .... 28 cm /Riding Mountain Park/
Wasagaming... 15 cm
Roblin ......... 12 cm
Rivers.......... 11 cm
Beausejour..... 12 cm
Pinawa......... 12 cm
Arborg......... 17 cm
Winkler........ 7 cm
Morden....... 5 cm

First general snowfall on the way for southern Manitoba.. 10-15 cm expected Thursday into Thursday night

So goodbye to that snowfree ground.. snow is on the way for much of southern Manitoba Thursday as a fast moving Alberta clipper system spreads snow across the region. Snow will be moving into western Manitoba early Thursday morning and will spread east towards Winnipeg by early afternoon. Snow will become heavy at times with snowfall rates of 1-2cm/hr at times giving poor visibilities and road conditions. For Winnipeg, snow will become heavy by mid to late afternoon into the evening before tapering off after midnight so be prepared for a slower than usual commute home Thursday evening. General snowfall amounts of 10-15 cm are expected with this system along the TransCanada corridor, including Winnipeg, as well as Dauphin through the southern Interlake regions. (see snowfall warning for southern Manitoba) Easterly winds of 30 to 50 km/h will also accompany the snow resulting in local blowing and drifting snow. This will be the first general snowfall of the season for Winnipeg and the Red River valley so be prepared for wintery road conditions and slower travel times Thursday as this clipper system moves through.

Dull weather continues.. colder air moving in for mid week; snow possible by Friday..

The dull weather of the past few days will continue today over the Red River valley with generally cloudy skies and temperatures near the freezing mark. Little change is expected for Monday however colder weather is forecast to flood into the Prairies by mid week as an Arctic airmass pushes in from the north. This will usher in a stretch of below normal temperatures for the first time in several weeks over southern MB along with occasional flurry activity. Long range models point to the possibility of a more significant clipper system pushing across the southern Prairies by late week with snow spreading into southern MB by Friday.. possibly giving the Red River valley its first widespread snow event of the season (potential for 5-10 cm) Stay tuned..

Beautiful early November weekend on tap.. changes brewing for mid to late week

Looks like a beautiful first weekend of November shaping up as the fine late fall weather continues. Under sunny skies and diminishing winds, temperatures on Saturday will reaching the low to mid teens, some 10 degrees above normal values for this time of year. 15C temperatures are even possible in Winnipeg as our southerly flow shifts to the west in the afternoon (record high for November 6th in Winnipeg is 16.7C in 1975 - we may come close) The nice weather will continue through Sunday into early next week with double digit highs, before a change moves in by mid week. A low pressure system will be passing across southern MB late Tuesday into Wednesday bringing some rain that may change to wet snow as it moves out. Colder air will follow in the wake of this system for the end of the week with more seasonable highs near +2C along with occasional flurry activity. So enjoy the nice weekend.. you may want to get those Christmas decorations up while it's still nice!

Late October rain gives Winnipeg wettest April-October period on record..

October was a mild and dry month until an intense fall storm brought heavy rain, snow and colder temperatures to finish off the month. The month was very quiet through the first 3 1/2 weeks with only 1.3 mm of rain on 2 days during that stretch. The dry weather was very much needed after an exceptionally wet August and September that left soil conditions saturated. That dry weather came to an end however on the 25th-27th when an intense storm system passing through Minnesota brought heavy rains of 50-90 mm through the Red River valley and snow (5-30 cm) over western MB. At 955 mb, the storm system was the deepest low ever recorded over the central continent, and produced the lowest pressure on record at Winnipeg (967 mb) The late month deluge led to yet another month with above normal precipitation in Winnipeg, helping to produce the wettest April-October period on record since records began in 1872 (630 mm, old record 625 mm 1977) The season's first snowfall in the city came on the evening of the 29th when 1 cm of snow was recorded, with heavier amounts of 3-5 cm over the northern part of the city.

Temperatures in October were very mild with daily highs above 10C through the 26th, including an 8 day stretch of 20C plus weather from the 4th to 11th, the longest 20C stretch in an October since 1963 (11 days) and tied for the 2nd longest streak on record. The month was on pace for a top 10 finish for mildest Octobers through the 26th, however cooler weather over the last 5 days of the month knocked it out of top 10 honours. Nevertheless, the month finished with an average of 8C at Winnipeg airport, almost 3C above normal.

All in all.. a much needed dry and mild month with a wet and cool finish.