It is the 60th anniversary of Winnipeg's March 1966 blizzard - one of the worst in the city's history. Officially, 36 cm of snow fell, along with wind gusts up to 113 km/h. Here's the weather map from March 4, 1966:
A strong cold front will roar across southern Manitoba tomorrow morning, dropping temperatures and ushering in strong northwesterly winds. Expect heavy blowing snow with poor visibility in open areas - highway closures are possible as a result. #mbstorm
Indeed, snowfall even varied significantly within the city itself, with the western side getting at least twice as much snow as in the east. You only have to go as far west as Portage or Carman to get into much heavier snow, where closer to 20 cm fell.
Here's a map showing estimated total snowfall yesterday across the eastern Prairies. Significant snow fell throughout a large part of SK and southern MB. However, in Winnipeg it felt like a non-event. As the map shows, Winnipeg ended up right at the very edge of the heavy snow.
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Western Manitoba should be around or just below freezing by late tomorrow, while warmer weather is a bit slower to arrive in the Red River Valley and southeast.
Congratulations, you've made it through the worst of winter in southern Manitoba. The first half of February will be much warmer! This week starts chilly, but by Thursday we should be around the freezing mark.
Just posted about that!
The wind chill hit -51 in Winnipeg this morning, which is a record low for Jan 25. That was due to a combined air temp of -38 C and 15 km/h winds. Readings of -50 and lower are uncommon. The coldest ever wind chill in Winnipeg was -57.
The low of -38.2 C was recorded at the airport. Meanwhile, the downtown area was a fair bit warmer, with the forks recording a low of only -31.7 C.
The low in Winnipeg this morning was -38.2 C. The -40 C mark contains to elude the city, with the last such reading now almost 20 years ago, on February 5, 2007. The provincial cold spot was Wasagaming, with a low of -43.0 C!
Extreme cold this morning in Manitoba. Here are some of the locations that dropped below -40 C:
Wasagaming: -42.3 C
Flin Flon: -42.1 C
Shoal Lake: -41.8 C
Roblin: -41.2 C
The Pas: -40.9 C
Grand Rapids: -40.9 C
Extreme cold will recur again tonight.
It’s been around for as long as I can remember. Screamers aren’t as common as clippers, so there aren’t as many opportunities to use the term I guess.
Note: A "MacKenzie Screamer" is similar to an Alberta Clipper, but it originates in the lee of the MacKenzie Mountains of the Northwest Territories, rather than along the Alberta Rockies. Screamers are often accompanied by colder air and less snow, due to their arctic origin.
A brief reprieve from adverse winter weather is expected today in southern Manitoba before another "MacKenzie Screamer" arrives tomorrow. Additional light snow is expected and strong winds will again produce significant blowing snow. Poor travel conditions should be expected.
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Visibility in the Red River Valley is now near zero at times due to heavy snow and blowing snow. Winds will continue to increase this afternoon. #mbstorm
Snow is getting underway in the Red River Valley from the next Clipper. Winds will also increase this afternoon, creating poor travel conditions. Many highways in western Manitoba are already closed. Use caution if heading out - conditions will worsen quickly.
Not looking promising tomorrow. This is tomorrow at 7am. At least it's not too windy.
On tomorrow's noon surface forecast map you can see the next Clipper approaching from Saskatchewan. Meanwhile today's Clipper is still trucking along through central Quebec. (data from the @weatherlogics.bsky.social WRF).
Appears winds will remain strong from the south until mid-late evening, then become westerly. The westerlies will still be strong, but not quite as strong as the southerlies during the afternoon-evening. However, snow is expected to end by late afternoon.
Today's @weatherlogics.bsky.social 4-km WRF simulation over western Canada suggests that blizzard conditions are likely to redevelop tomorrow in southern Manitoba. Snow will move from west to east during the day, along with southerly winds of 40-60 km/h gusting to 60-80 km/h.
Both are possibilities again. About 5 cm of additional snow is expected, and winds will be very strong, so visibility will be poor, especially in the afternoon.
While tomorrow's Alberta Clipper technically isn't as strong as today's, it may still pack a punch. Strong southerly winds are expected in the Red River Valley in the afternoon, along with more snow, so near blizzard conditions are possible again!
Always tough to say when there is significant blowing snow, but the storm total was approximately 10 cm.
The worst of the Alberta Clipper is now over, but conditions will remain poor today as blowing snow continues. Winds will gradually ease, calming right down tonight as high pressure builds in. High pressure won't last long - the next Clipper arrives tomorrow!
I see many flights are delayed or cancelled, so I assume it was/is.
Blizzard warnings previously used the criteria above, but now use subjective impact-based criteria that are not based on measurable meteorological conditions.
This storm officially met blizzard criteria in Winnipeg as visibility at the airport remained below 400 m (0.25 miles) for at least 4 consecutive hours (criteria met for 6 hours total).
Note: The definition of a blizzard is now different from that of a blizzard warning.
Weatherlogics users report freezing rain with this initial band of precipitation that is moving across southern Manitoba. Watch for slippery conditions today before the heavy snow and wind begins tonight!
