A blast of October heat had people peeling off their coats on Thursday across the province, but we could be in for a dangerously cold winter according to AccuWeather.
According to Environment Canada, a total of seven towns set new heat records Thursday.
In Regina temperatures climbed to 26 C, beating the old record set in 2000.
Assiniboia, Coronach, Indian Head, Mankota, Val Marie and Weyburn also saw record temperatures.
The hottest place in all of Canada was the community of Yellow Grass, near Weyburn. It reached an incredible 27.7 C, but that wasn’t quite a record.
Normal temperatures for this time of year are around 10 C.
AccuWeather predicts “dangerously cold” winter
Enjoy the heat while it lasts, because the latest forecast by AccuWeather is predicting a very cold winter for the Prairies.
“Waves of arctic air will blast across the Canadian Prairies in the coming months, causing temperatures to plummet to dangerously low levels multiple times throughout the winter,” AccuWeather said in a news release.
Those brutal cold snaps will come with biting winds that may be a shock to the system after a warm winter last year and an expected mild start to the season this year.
Thermostats will be up and down throughout the winter with cold snaps followed by quick warmups.
The winter forecast contains some good news for avid skiers and snowmobilers, with the Rocky Mountains expected to get a lot of snow dumps creating great powder conditions.
—with files from CKOM News