Snow could hit Regina and Saskatoon, but not a significant amount

Halloween decorations could turn a bit white in parts of Saskatchewan, including Regina and Saskatoon.

Environment Canada senior climatologist David Phillips said on the Greg Morgan Morning Show a couple of days of snow are expected to hit, but nothing he said suggests it will cause a lot of shovelling.

“This is not your white Christmas snowfall,” he said.

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“The ground is mild; that snow doesn’t have a chance, no collecting at all, and it’s not going to be memorable. You won’t even remember it in the future.”

The weather office is calling for rain or snow on Tuesday afternoon in Regina, with around two centimetres, or under an inch, of snow expected to fall Tuesday night, with more snow expected during the day Wednesday.

Meanwhile, in Saskatoon, periods of rain or snow are expected to begin Tuesday afternoon, with two to four centimetres, or as much as around an inch and a half of snow expected. More snow is also expected on Wednesday, with a chance of flurries on Thursday.

“The winds are not going to be strong at all. That’s always a risk in southern Saskatchewan, so it’s not going to be blowing around, and not blizzard-like. There are no warnings or watches out. This is almost just a little annoyance.”

He explained that with the Godzilla of El Niño here, Saskatchewan can expect normal amounts of snow, but with more mild temperatures.

“So much emphasis on El Niño is on the winter, but when you look back in Saskatchewan over the last 80 years, we’ve had four strong El Niños, and all those falls have been warmer than normal. So it’s almost like the dress rehearsal, the preview of what winter is kind of like.”

He said temperatures in September and October have been almost three degrees warmer than normal.”We’ve had two-thirds of our fall, and it has been warmer than normal, despite what we see today (Tuesday); and we’ve had some cool days, but you got through September without a killing frost.”

However, Phillips suggested Saskatchewan isn’t out of the woods for bitterly cold days this winter.”Milder and drier doesn’t mean the total absence of prairie cold and blizzards. El Niño doesn’t blow every day, so you’ll get those kinds of moments to remind you of where you live.”

As for Halloween, while it’s still more than a week away, Phillips said the early forecasts are calling for a high of 4 C in Regina.

“So when your kids are going to go out, they’re not going to have any rain gear on, they’re not going to look like the Michelin man all bundled up. It looks like very comfortable, dry, perfect weather.”