REGINA — Anyone else confused about what month it is lately? Maybe it’s the fact that it’s almost the end of 2021, and yes, I say that every November! Where did the year go?! But, it also could be that November has felt more like late September with a beautiful stretch of weather to start the month. We’ve yet to see substantial snowfall, and temperatures soared to the double digits for most of the start of the month. The climate normal for November is 2.8 days above 10 degrees Celsius. So, we’ve already beat that!
But for those that are itching to bring out the warm blankets, candles and winter jackets – you’re in luck! A pattern change is happening this week, that means colder temperatures, snow and messy weather conditions. The weather maker here is a low-pressure system developing in Alberta that is pushing into the province through Thursday.
This low looks to first bring rain on the southern and eastern side starting in Swift Current and stretching towards Assiniboia through the evening tonight before heading east towards Regina, Moose Jaw and Weyburn. Eventually, the rain will stretch through the entire southeast corner by Wednesday morning.
Regina looks to have precipitation start at around midnight Tuesday, followed by messy conditions through to Wednesday morning. The more northern side of this low will have colder air wrapped up in it changing the rain to freezing rain and snow that will head south with this system’s movement. So, expect temperatures to cool and snow to build in Wednesday evening and stick around until Thursday before the low moves into Manitoba.
Currently, it looks like 4-6 centimetres of snow are likely for the Regina area. There will also be 1-3 millimetres of rain first, for a total precipitation accumulation somewhere around 10 millimetres through Thursday evening. Temperatures also drop significantly this week, with an expected high of -3 degrees Celsius on Thursday.
On the flip side, the northern part of this low tells a different story since the precipitation currently looks to be all (or mostly) snow. Saskatoon will see a wintery mix start tonight followed by snow as the system continues to push east. This is likely to be the first “big” snowfall of the season for some communities in the central east with the highest amounts of accumulation looking to stretch through the triangular area between Yorkton, Prince Albert and over towards Nipawin. This region could see around 20 centimetres of snowfall through Thursday evening.
With all of this, get ready for the change in conditions this week. That means you’ll need a jacket and to prepare for winter driving conditions. Give yourself a few extra minutes to get around as things will be slick out there and no one likes running out to their car only to find it covered in snow and ice. Also, if you are headed on the highway, remember to drive for the conditions and be aware and careful as conditions can always change quickly.
Happy November (or whatever month it is)! Winter is really just getting started.
