Spring is off to a wintry start across the Prairies as temperatures plunge

It is spring, both meteorologically and astronomically speaking, even though it won’t feel like it for the next little while as a blast of Arctic air seeps down over the Prairies.

Temperatures will plummet to well below seasonal on Monday, with chilly winds not helping to make it feel very much like spring yet. While all three Prairie provinces will be feeling the cold, Saskatchewan and Manitoba will be bearing the brunt of this Arctic blast.

Some places on the eastern Prairies can feel daytime temperatures 10-15 degrees below seasonal for this time of year, making the end of March feel more like the middle of December.

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Monday morning will definitely wake you up with a blast of cold air on your morning commute as temperatures will be around -20°C, with the wind chill making it feel closer to -30°C for parts of eastern Saskatchewan and southern Manitoba.

This all comes as parts of southern Manitoba, including the city of Winnipeg, have not seen a single day above the freezing mark since Valentine’s day in February. Winnipeg has not gone this long without daily temperatures reaching above zero in 124 years.

A chillier than normal pattern is expected to persist into early April for the eastern Prairies. However, a more changeable weather pattern, with closer to seasonal temperatures will be in the forecast for Alberta sooner.

Hopefully, as we move more into the spring months, temperatures will warm up in time for April showers to bring May flowers on the Prairies.

For more forecasts and weather information across the Prairies, keep checking back to The Weather Network.