Parts of the Red River Valley and much of Southeastern Manitoba are waking up to a fresh blanket of snow Wednesday morning, not a lot, but enough to remind us Old Man Winter may not be done yet, even though Spring officially arrived last week.
"Tuesday's light snow, which topped out at a few centimeters, was part of that strong low pressure system which brought heavy snow and significant rainfall Sunday through yesterday to parts of the Dakotas and Minnesota," explained CMOS Accredited Weathercaster Chris Sumner. "The bands of snow we saw here were from the far northwestern edge of that system which has now full tracked into Ontario. The arrival of that light snow lines up with the expectation we shared prior to last weekend that at some point during that winter storm's travels we would see some impacts on our side of the border, thankfully they were minimal compared to what they could have been."
The western extent of the snowfall was just west of Altona, with Winkler and Morden seeing little accumulation from yesterday's flurries.
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Flurries will wrap up this morning in the western Red River Valley, with periods of light snow possible for much of the day east of the Red River to the Ontario border.
"Gusty northwesterly winds will remain a factor Wednesday as the difference in pressure between to low and high pressure nosing into the region from the west will produce blustery conditions again for the region," he noted. "Winds between 30 and 50km/h are likely throughout Wednesday, with the added factor of that light snow from Tuesday being blown about, meaning ground drifting and some blowing snow will be possible for the regions that did see some flakes."
Temperatures remain well below average today, between -5 and -7, with seasonal conditions around +4 daytime and -7 overnight for the end of March.
"We will have a brief return to sunshine Thursday as an area of high pressure over Manitoba keeps things clear and much less windy," said Sumner. "That will also mark the beginning of a warm up for Easter Weekend, back to the plus side of zero, with temperatures ranging between +1 and +4 through Easter Monday."
Sumner stressed, the quiet weather will be short-lived, with another system targeting Southern Manitoba Good Friday, bringing a potential snow/rain mix for the day.
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"A low pressure system tracking across the Prairies, as well as another disturbance moving through the Dakotas, are looking likely to bring additional precipitation chances to Southern Manitoba as we get into Easter weekend," he said. "Temperatures will have rebounded to seasonal by Good Friday, and the southerly flow ahead of this combination of disturbances would mean showers for the Red River Valley and Southeastern Manitoba, with cooler temperatures in the Southwest leading to a higher probability of snow. At this point, the forecast models are showing minimal accumulations, but depending on what kind of snow/rain combination we see, or if freezing rain is part of the mix, travel conditions could be impacted Friday in some way."
The remainder of Easter weekend is looking relatively quiet, with cloud cover Saturday and a return to sunshine for Easter Sunday. Highs are expected to be around +1 to +3.