Friday 20 October 2017

Warmth Records Shattered October 20

It was an unseasonably warm day across southern Manitoba today (October 20). Widespread records were broken with highs in the mid twenties.

Winnipeg Airport reached 25.0°C, breaking the old record of 23.9°C in 1875 and 1958. This marked the 7th latest date to reach 25°C on record since 1872. The latest was on October 27, 1938 with a high of 25.6°C. It is rare to reach 25°C this late in the season. In fact, today marked the latest date to reach 25°C in Winnipeg since 1963, Winnipeg's warmest October.

Widespread highs between 25°C and 27°C occurred in southeastern Manitoba. The hotspot was Sprague with a high of 27.2°C. Beausejour (Manitoba Agriculture station) also reached 27.0°C. A list of records (non-exhaustive) follows:


Records October 20, 2017:
City or town....New Record....Old Record....Record Period(s)

Sprague..........27.2°C....23.9°C (1953)....................1915-present (ECCC)
Beausejour......27.0°C....20.6°C (1978)....................1960-2004 (ECCC), presently Mb Ag
Steinbach........26.3°C....23.3°C (1958)....................1956-2004 (ECCC), 2006-present (Mb Ag)
Winnipeg........25.0°C....23.9°C (1875 and 1958)....1872-present (ECCC)
Gretna.............24.6°C....23.9°C (1958)....................1955-present (ECCC)
Pinawa............24.0°C....20.6°C (1978)....................1915-1950, 1964-present (ECCC)
Wasagaming... 22.8°C....21.1°C (1973 and 1978)....1966-present (ECCC)
Gimli..............21.5°C....20.6°C (1953).....................1944-present (ECCC)

Cities that just missed out on records include Morden with a high of 25.1°C (record 27.2°C in 1927), Portage la Prairie with a high of 23.5°C (record 25.6°C in 1927), and Brandon with a high of 22.4°C (record 23.3°C in 1901).

Hopefully you are enjoying the warmth while it lasts. I can guarantee that it won't be this warm again until at least April! Much cooler conditions are expected next week.

Thursday 5 October 2017

First Hard Freeze at Winnipeg Airport

The first hard freeze of the season occurred at Winnipeg Airport this morning with a low of -2.2°C. This is four days later than the normal date of October 1. As the map below shows, most of the city did not freeze, with lows above freezing. The Forks only dropped to 4.8°C. Outside the city, most areas froze.


Some patchy frost is possible again tonight but lows don`t look to be as cold. The next few days actually look quite nice across southern Manitoba with lots of sunshine and seasonal to above seasonal temperatures. Highs in the mid to high teens are anticipated. A slight and brief cool down is expected in the second half of the weekend and to start next week. There is also not much precipitation in the forecast over the next 7 days. A few showers are possible over the weekend with the best chance being on Saturday. Accumulations, if any, look minimal.