Spring is usually the point where warmer temperatures start to creep into the southeast, but we're being proved wrong with a new system that's just arrived. Temperatures will be in the single digits over the next few days, well below the seasonal average for this point in May.
Environment and Climate Change Canada scientist Christy Climenhaga talks about the extreme change we've seen in Estevan in less than a week.
"The first couple of weeks of May, very, very warm in much of southern Saskatchewan, Estevan hitting, you know, the 30s multiple times this month, and it looks like we're going to see a change in that back towards not only seasonal conditions, but below seasonal conditions actually heading through the May long weekend and into the start of next week."
It's not just the cold we've got to worry about, as a continued rain pattern is hitting the area with the potential of heavy downpours.
"We're starting to see some rain moving into the region, and heavy rain is expected tonight into the day tomorrow in the Estevan area. You could even be seeing anywhere from 50 to 80 millimetres of rain by the time that system moves out by Friday," said Climenhaga, "But midday or so is when things will start to wrap up, so quite an end to the week for you."
One lucky factor for the southeast is that even though the temperatures are getting very low, we'll be missing out on any freezing rain or even snow for this system.
"A little further north in Manitoba, that's where you're kind of looking at the timing of that cooler coming down with the precipitation, giving you that risk of maybe more of a messy kind of mix towards northern Manitoba," said Climenhaga, "But for southern Saskatchewan, it does look like it's going to be a rain event."
Climenhaga says that the Friday and Saturday weather may not be as clear, as those temperatures get even lower and may end up with some frosty precipitation.
While that might end up messing with some Victoria Day long weekend plans, Climenhaga says that cooler temperatures on that weekend are surprisingly common.
"Looking at Regina's temperatures close by, it's just easier to find that May long weekend since it shifts a little bit every year, but the last five, six, seven years or so in a row, you have hit right around the freezing mark or just below the freezing mark in southern Saskatchewan in overnight lows. So it happens pretty consistently, believe it or not, for this time of year."
Next week, a similar rainy pattern is heading through the southeast, though Climenhaga says that Environment and Climate Change Canada isn't totally sure what we'll be seeing that week.