Cancel that cold: Weather in Sask. expected to warm by mid-week

The freezing temperatures blanketing most of central Saskatchewan shouldn’t stick around for too much longer.

Shannon Moodie, a meteorologist for Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), said that most of the extreme cold warnings should start to disappear Saturday afternoon.

“We’re going to be seeing an end to the extreme cold warnings through the day. There may be some extreme cold warnings that will persist through the eastern part of the province,” Moodie said.

ECCC had issued an extreme cold warning for most of central Saskatchewan including Lloydminster, Norht Battleford, Kindersley, Regina, Saskatoon, Yorkton and dipping down into southern communities like Weyburn and Estevan.

The cold warning alert issued by Environment Canada. Screenshot taken at 2:30 p.m. on Jan. 4, 2025. (Environment and Climate Change Canada/screenshot)

The extreme cold warnings are activated when wind chill plunges to the -40 C range.

Extreme cold puts everyone at risk, ECCC says, advising people to dress in layers and make sure the outermost layer is wind resistant.

Synthetic and wool fabrics provide good insulation.

Frostbite can develop on exposed skin within minutes, especially with wind chill.

If the temperature is too cold for humans, it’s likely too cold for animals and it’s recommended to keep them inside.

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Moodie said we will likely see things warm back up to Christmas-time temperatures again later in the week.

“With that cloud and the system moving through, we’ll see a bit of a break in the extreme cold. It’s still going to be a little bit chilly into about mid-week, but we will be seeing those extreme cold warnings pared back,” she said.

During the holidays, Saskatchewan experienced above-normal temperatures according to ECCC meterologist Danielle Desjardin.

The normal temperature varies across the province, but Desjardins said the average for this time of year is about -7 C or -8 C.

When it comes to snow and worries about another weekend of shovelling the driveway, that likely won’t be the case.

Moodie said that we shouldn’t see too much snow this weekend.

“We have a weak impulse that will be tracking through the province, bringing in some clouds, just some light flurries, and not really looking at too much accumulations,” she said.

However, there is a snowfall warning for the Maple Creek and Cypress Hill area, where up to 15cm might fall. The snow is expected to end Saturday evening.