Reading Time: 3 minutes As we ease into what can be the stormiest and snowiest time of the year on the Prairies, the big question is—are we going to see a late winter snowstorm? Well, I can say that we won’t. What I can say is the odds are low in this forecast period.
Prairie forecast: Very mild west, slowly warming east
Forecast issued March 5, covering March 5 to 12, 2025
Prairie forecast: Mild and dry west – unsettled start to the east
Reading Time: 3 minutes In recent days the weather models have leaned towards the mild weather sticking around. The the main medium to long range forecast models are calling for a warmer than average March across the Prairies. Maybe we are seeing an early start to spring.
Prairie forecast: Cold snap coming to an end
Forecast issued February 19, covering Feb. 19 to 26, 2025
Reading Time: 3 minutes For this forecast period, as predicted a week ago, we're finally going to see an end to this long cold snap. The polar vortex is weakening and is forecasted to move off to the east. This will allow for a strong push of mild Pacific air to flood across the Prairies. It should bring temperatures above freezing to Alberta beginning early in the forecast period. Near to above freezing temperatures should move into Saskatchewan and Manitoba over the weekend.
Prairie forecast: Cold high pressure to dominate
Forecast issued February 12, covering Feb. 12 to 19, 2025
Reading Time: 3 minutes Unfortunately, it looks like the cold weather will stick around for at least this forecast period. Maybe a little bit longer. There are some signs of this pattern breaking down near the end of the month, so let’s keep our fingers crossed.
Prairie forecast: Weekend low to bring snow to swaths of the Prairies
Forecast issued January 29, covering Jan. 29 to Feb. 5, 2025
Reading Time: 3 minutes We start this forecast period off with plenty of warm air in place across much of the Prairies. We continue to see areas of low pressure dropping southeastward from the western territories into northwestern Ontario with high pressure still in place across the northwestern U.S. and southwestern Canada.
Prairie forecast: Mild start replaced by Arctic high pressure
Forecast issued January 15, covering Jan. 15 to 22, 2025
Reading Time: 3 minutes We start this forecast period with an area of low-pressure sliding southeastwards through the southern Northwest Territories and into northern Manitoba. This low is pulling mild air northwards, which means a continuation of mild temperatures in Alberta, while Saskatchewan and Manitoba are seeing a rapid rebound from the cold start to the week.
Prairie forecast: Battle between warm and cold
Forecast issued January 8, covering January 8 to 15, 2025
Reading Time: 3 minutes For this forecast period, the weather models have been bouncing back and forth between a return to cold weather after a brief mid-week warmup or a return to the mild weather pattern we saw during much of December. The models have been slowly converging towards the milder solutions, but at this point confidence in the second half of this forecast period is low.
Prairie forecast: Colder weather moving in with the New Year
Forecast issued Dec. 31, covering Dec. 31 to January 8, 2025
Reading Time: 3 minutes For this forecast period, it looks like the quiet weather pattern will continue as the weather models are not showing any big storm systems impacting the Prairies. We should continue our slow cooldown with temperatures during most of this forecast period looking to be near to below average.
Prairie forecast: Mild, quiet holidays expected
Forecast issued Dec. 24, covering Dec. 24 to Dec. 31, 2024
Reading Time: 3 minutes The weather for this forecast period will be largely controlled by a large, stationary area of low pressure in the Gulf of Alaska. This has been sending wave after wave over energy into coastal B.C. This will result in a predominately west to southwesterly flow across the Prairies—meaning a continuation of mild temperatures as Pacific air dominates.
Prairie forecast: Cold start, but then turning mild
Forecast issued Dec. 18, covering Dec. 18 to 25, 2024
Reading Time: 3 minutes To start this forecast period, we have a strong area of Arctic high pressure dropping southeastwards behind the area of low pressure that hit the eastern Prairies earlier in the week. This high will bring a quick shot of cold weather to Saskatchewan and Manitoba from Wednesday to Friday.
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
