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Prairie forecast: Midwinter cold settles in

Forecast issued February 5, covering Feb. 5 to Feb. 12, 2025

Reading Time: 3 minutes We start this forecast period off with plenty of cold air in place, which is a 180-degree change from a week ago. Saskatchewan and Manitoba will also have to deal with a disturbance on Wednesday and Thursday that may bring upwards of 15 cm of fluffy snow.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, federal Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair and Edmonton MP and Tourism Minister Randy Boissonnault are briefed by Canadian Forces Lt. Col. Ben Schmidt at CFB Edmonton on May 15, 2023. (Photo: Reuters/Amber Bracken)

Little chance for rain on Alberta wildfires

Coming cold front more windy than rainy in nature, Environment Canada says

Reading Time: 2 minutes Ottawa | Reuters — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Alberta on Monday as raging wildfires prompted mass evacuations and reduced energy production in Canada’s main oil-producing province, where meteorologists expect virtually no rain for 10 days or so. In Edmonton, Trudeau received an update on firefighting efforts by Canadian soldiers sent to help provincial firefighting […] Read more


Pacific Ocean sea surface temperatures in degrees Celsius for the week centred on March 15, 2023. (CPC.ncep.noaa.gov)

No big changes in current weather patterns

Potential for some precipitation in early April

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — With spring officially underway, don’t expect a lot of major changes in the current weather patterns across the Canadian Prairies and the U.S. northern Plains, according to Drew Lerner of World Weather Inc. at Overland Park, Kansas. “For the rest of March, it’s status quo, it will stay cold. We’re not going to […] Read more

File photo of a snow-topped field in Alberta. (Don White/iStock/Getty Images)

Cold, snowy start seen to Prairies’ winter

Reading Time: 1 minute MarketsFarm — Although the official calendar start to winter isn’t until Dec. 21, conditions on the Canadian Prairies are now winter-like, according to Weatherlogics chief scientist Scott Kehler. “For the month of November, it looks like we’re off to a cold start for most of the Prairies. The western Prairies… had quite a significant winter […] Read more


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Environment Canada sees cool summer for Manitoba

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Manitoba and eastern Saskatchewan could be in for a cooler-than-normal summer, according to the latest long-range outlook from Environment Canada. The latest seasonal forecast from the government agency, released Tuesday, calls for a 40 to 80 per cent chance of below normal temperatures from June through August across all of the agricultural regions […] Read more



File photo of a Saskatchewan grid road in winter. (Daxus/iStock/Getty Images)

Environment Canada calls for colder-than-normal Prairie spring

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Colder-than-normal temperatures are in the long-range forecast across most of the Canadian Prairies, according to the latest long-range outlook from Environment Canada. The latest seasonal forecast from the government agency, released Monday, calls for a 40-50 per cent chance of below-normal temperatures from March through May for most of the three Prairie provinces, […] Read more

Accumulated precipitation in Western Canada from Nov. 1 to Feb. 15. (AAFC)

Expect Prairie temperatures below normal until month’s end

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — The Prairie weather outlook for the rest of February is likely to remain below normal, according to Scott Kehler, chief scientist for Weatherlogics in Winnipeg. “[But] not as cold as it has been for most of the winter,” he added. Much of January and February have been highlighted by temperatures well below normal. […] Read more


Environment Canada’s forecast probabilities of precipitation for the January-through-March period. (Weather.gc.ca)

Colder-than-normal Prairie winter forecast

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Colder-than-normal temperatures are in the long-range forecast across Western Canada over the next three months, while much of Eastern Canada should be warmer. The latest seasonal forecast from Environment Canada, released Friday, calls for a 50 to 90 per cent chance of below-normal temperatures from January through March for the four western provinces. […] Read more

An undated photo from CN’s media gallery shows a locomotive travelling through the Ashcroft, B.C. area. (CN.ca)

CN, CP trains ordered to slow down against fire risk

Ministerial order in effect until Oct. 31

Reading Time: 3 minutes A new federal ministerial order calls for Canada’s big two railways to significantly cut their train speeds in any areas deemed to be at an “extreme” fire risk. “With extreme weather events occurring more severely and frequently in Canada due to climate change, it is important to have an adaptive regulatory system that responds to […] Read more