SASKATOON – After wind chill values made it feel like minus 44 Wednesday morning in Saskatoon, a major warm up is upon us. Unfortunately, it won’t be coming with sunshine and roses.
The mercury is expected to skyrocket above freezing Friday with a warm surge of air sliding in to eventually displace the cold arctic air that’s engulfed the area.
The big warm up may seem unbelievable for Saskatonians after temperatures fell to minus 34 Wednesday morning and barely clambered out of the minus 20s for a daytime high.
With extreme cold warnings ended across Saskatchewan before noon and a steady southerly flow of heat in store over the coming days, a recovery near the freezing mark Thursday and an above zero high Friday is welcome news for many.
READ MORE: Extreme cold warning for -40 wind chills or colder in Saskatoon
Friday’s blast of heat will come at a cost. As the warm air overrides the cold dense air at the surface, it will squeeze out precipitation over the region. Precipitation is expected to first start as snow, then transition into possible ice pellets, freezing rain and then rain heading into the afternoon commute home Friday.
Daytime highs are expected to stay above freezing through the weekend and into the beginning of next week with more mixed precipitation possible Monday.
Overnight lows will remain below freezing so lots of freezing and thawing is expected in the days ahead with slick morning travel and sloppy afternoon road conditions.
March is expected to see mixed precipitation more than once.
A jet stream, the river of quickly moving air in the upper atmosphere, that directs weather making and precipitation laden low pressure systems is setting up to be over Saskatoon for a large portion of the month, so an above average month in terms of moisture is expected.
The exact timing of the precipitation will be pinpointed closer to the date so be sure to check in with the Highway Hotline before heading out to travel heading into the weekend.
Want your Saskatoon and area weather on the go? Download the Global News SkyTracker weather app for iPhone, iPad or Android.
Comments