Bundle Up!

The weather on the prairies has been significant the last few days:
Alberta was seeing temperatures above freezing (up to +5*C), and they got the brunt of an intense snowstorm; Edmonton, Alberta reported 32 cm of snow in a day. At the same time, the western half of Saskatchewan had snowfall warnings. Most areas received around 6" of snow, while Regina got around 5" over the entire weekend.

Now Saskatchewan is being hit by brutally cold temperatures. At 12:30 am, the temperature in Regina reached -30*C with a wind chill of -39*C. That has been the coldest temperature we have had this winter.

The local forecasts (which follow the GEM regional and global models) have been consistent with the GFS, as both have been showing this frigid cold weather leaving the region for a couple of days before another Arctic system returns on the weekend. Although one can never trust the long-range forecasts of the GFS it currently has been showing this extreme cold hovering over the area for at least 8 straight days, with a potential for yet another and yet more intense system before the end of the month.

I will continue to monitor this situation and report anymore insane high or low temperatures reached across the prairies over the coming weeks...