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Saskatchewan’s February warm-up is expected to end soon, with snow and colder air forecast to return to much of the province next week.
Environment Canada meteorologist Kyle McCauley said mild temperatures near 0 C had been “repeating” across much of the Prairies, but conditions are expected to shift around the middle of next week as an Alberta clipper moves in.
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“Looks like that’s going to be repeating for the next few days until maybe sometime, like probably middle next week,” McCauley said.
He said the system was expected to bring “a fair bit of snow,” with the most active stretch shaping up from Tuesday overnight into Wednesday.
For Regina, McCauley said Tuesday could bring a light start to the snowfall, with the potential for more meaningful accumulation on Wednesday, though he cautioned totals were still uncertain. The forecast is much the same for Saskatoon, Prince Albert and Moose Jaw.
“On Tuesday, maybe a couple centimetres,” he said. “Then Wednesday looks like it would be more of a significant amount, maybe somewhere between five and 15 cm range.”
Once that system passes, McCauley said temperatures are expected to fall back closer to what’s typical for mid-February, “normal being in the range of like around -7 C highs,” with overnight lows “-19 or -20 C” in the days that followed.
Even with the cooler snap, he said he doesn’t foresee a plunge into extreme cold.
“It’s nothing like into the minus 30s, 40s,” McCauley said. “I don’t foresee any extreme cold warnings coming out … temperatures might get down to the low -20s in the next week or so after this front passes through.”
The shift comes after a February stretch that, in McCauley’s words, had run well above average. He said parts of southwest Saskatchewan had been especially mild, with temperatures climbing into double digits.
“We’re seeing temperatures of over 10 C today, like Leader, Maple Creek area,” he said on Sunday, calling it “pretty warm for this time of year.”
McCauley said one reason the warmth could build was the lack of snow cover in some areas. With bare ground showing, more energy could be absorbed at the surface, helping temperatures climb higher than they would over fresh snow.
“That really helps get those temperatures up even higher,” he said.
Looking back over the past month, McCauley said Regina’s recent stretch had been markedly milder than normal.
“Most of February has been significantly above average, somewhere between like seven to around 11 C, 12 C — give or take — above average,” he said, adding late January had been much colder before the pattern flipped.
And for anyone tempted to declare winter finished, McCauley pushed back.
“It definitely isn’t over,” he said, noting Saskatchewan could still see winter weather deep into the spring. “Could go into March, we see snow in April quite often, too.”
McCauley said the province was essentially heading back to a more typical February look, just without the worst-case deep-freeze conditions.
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