Snowy Weekend Ahead for Parts of Southern Saskatchewan and Manitoba With Up to 20cm Possible
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It was only a matter of time before the first significant snowfall hit Southern Saskatchewan and Manitoba and a system moving northward from the States will deliver that.
The precipitation will cross the border shortly after midnight tonight as it travels northeastward into Southeast Saskatchewan. This precipitation will be split between snow to the west and a pocket of rain to the east in the extreme Southeast corner of Saskatchewan as a result of a difference in temperature; below freezing in the west and positive single digits to the east. The temperature gradient will persist throughout the event and will result in areas of Western Manitoba seeing a brief period of light rain before temperatures drop and there is a transition to snow as the precipitation spreads.
The rain will be short-lived in Saskatchewan as the system pushes further into the region and cross into Manitoba by the mid-morning. At this point, the snowfall over Southeast Saskatchewan is expected to intensify, leading to widespread 5-10cm of accumulation in that area and into the Parkland region of Manitoba. A smaller area, that includes Carlyle, Estevan, Moosomin, Weyburn, and Dauphin can expect upwards of 20cm of snow as a result of this intensification through the afternoon.
By the mid-afternoon, the area of rain will start to expand eastward across the rest of Southern Manitoba, which will limit the amount of snowfall in Portage la Prairie and the Interlake Region. As the system continues to move across the region through the evening and overnight, a widespread 5-10mm of rain will fall across Southeast Manitoba.
The snow is expected to finish in Saskatchewan by midnight Saturday and the mix of precipitation will continue throughout Southern Manitoba until early Sunday afternoon. With the transition from rain to snow in some areas and a quick blast of up to 20cm of snow in others, road conditions will likely be poor so take extra care when travelling, particularly on Saturday.
