Marna McManus

After an Arctic high pressure system had us dealing with extreme cold for the last week and a half, now, an upper ridge of Pacific air has been moving into the region, bringing daytime highs closer to zero throughout the next week.

A Pacific upper ridge is now winning the battle in the skies, which means we are now, after a couple of weeks of deep freeze conditions, in for a serious warm-up here in the southeast.

Samantha Mauti, Meteorologist with Environment Canada, said we were previously under an Arctic high-pressure system, which generally means cold temperatures.

"We were getting lots of Arctic air funneling in from an Arctic high-pressure system sitting at the surface." 

While some see the ground covered in snow and think, 'this is good for the farmers', area grain farmer Norm McFadden said he doesn't tend to see the benefits from the winter snow as much as he does from that which comes down in late spring.

"I don't get too worried about the snowfall until we get into like late April, March," he noted. "We know how quickly the weather can change in this country, so I don't usually to get too worried until we start getting into March, and then if we still don't, however, get any snow, then I'll start worrying a little bit."

With the wind chill making it feel like minus 31 this morning, and more of these super low temperatures remaining throughout the week, Environment Canada is reminding of the risk of frostbite.

"It's really important for people to plan their time to take the necessary precautions like dressing properly, not. Spending a whole lot of time outside paying very close attention to how people are feeling or behaving," said Warning Preparedness Meteorologist Natalie Hasell.

Many are struggling this month with the darker days and colder weather, especially after the winter holidays have passed.

Tasha Collins, program director at the Weyburn Branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association, said January is often a 'sad' month, with the third Monday of January often referred to as 'blue Monday'.

With the wind chill making it feel like minus 31 this morning, and more of these super low temperatures remaining throughout the week, Environment Canada is reminding of the risk of frostbite.

"It's really important for people to plan their time to take the necessary precautions like dressing properly, not. Spending a whole lot of time outside paying very close attention to how people are feeling or behaving," said Warning Preparedness Meteorologist Natalie Hasell.

With the wind chill making it feel like minus 31 this morning, and more of these super low temperatures remaining throughout the week, Environment Canada is reminding people of the risk of frostbite.

"It's really important for people to plan their time to take the necessary precautions like dressing properly, not. Spending a whole lot of time outside paying very close attention to how people are feeling or behaving," said Warning Preparedness Meteorologist Natalie Hasell.

Ice safety is a serious concern in winter, especially in an El Niño winter, and checking ice thickness on frozen water bodies could save lives.

"We haven't really seen cold temperatures or a lot of that snow or kind of what we would know is a typical winter in Saskatchewan," said Spokesperson for the Water Security Agency, Patrick Boyle. 

He said the ice situation this winter has the potential to be quite hazardous.

Ice safety is a serious concern in winter, especially in an El Niño winter, and checking ice thickness on frozen water bodies could save lives.

"We haven't really seen cold temperatures or a lot of that snow or kind of what we would know is a typical winter in Saskatchewan," said Spokesperson for the Water Security Agency, Patrick Boyle. 

He said the ice situation this winter has the potential to be quite hazardous.

Kids of all ages struggle, and some more so than others. This is why the school counselor caseload management and student support services in the Southeast Cornerstone Public School Division are being refreshed, moving toward a strength-based approach for students from Kindergarten to Grade 12.