SASKATOON – After the first extreme cold weather warning in Saskatchewan last weekend, Saskatoon can now expect a break this week, complete with positive temperatures. However, mitts and parkas should be kept on hand.
“We currently have a system that’s moving through Saskatchewan, some ongoing snowfall, some patchy freezing drizzle or eastern portions of the province, that will gradually be moving out tonight,” said Mike Russo, Environment Canada meteorologist.
There is still a chance of flurries Sunday evening with a low of minus 14 and a cool, partly-cloudy Monday.
But then Saskatoon residents can expect a reprieve from the freezing temperatures experienced last week.
“The early part of next week we have a series of disturbances that will be tracking across northern Canada, over the Yukon and Northwest Territories in particular, and those systems will start to drag in milder Pacific air across most of the Prairies,” said Russo.
“As a result, we’re expecting temperatures to rise above the zero mark as we get into the middle portions of next week, with daytime highs ranging from plus two to plus five degrees for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.”
By Tuesday, temperatures are expected to hit a high of plus two and to stay mild with low single-digit highs until Saturday.
During Dec.8-11, 2013, the low temperature was around minus 31 degrees Celsius in Saskatoon.
“We’re in the Prairies, we are used to extremes and it doesn’t take much to go from extremely cold to extremely warm temperatures, it’s just a matter of where that jet stream lines up,” said Russo.
“We’re switching from a north-westerly flow aloft to more of a westerly flow and as a result we’re getting a change of air masses so changing from an arctic air mass to a more Pacific air mass.”
Russo says precipitation, like freezing rain, shouldn’t be much of a problem this coming week and instead residents can expect sunny days, with little cloud cover. Roads should be in relatively good condition and not too slippery.
“Especially in the major urban centres where they are putting sand and salt on the roads, that kind of alleviates most of the problems, it’s more of a problem once you get out on the open highways,” said Russo.
As a whole, Saskatchewan will be much more pleasant outdoors, with temperatures above the normal mark for this time of year.
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