Rain and snow will likely leave roads and sidewalks in Prince Albert very slippery on Saturday. (File Photo/CKOM Staff)

By Rob Mahon

Rain For Weekend

Rain, wind, and snow: Wild temperature swings in store for rest of the week

Mar 9, 2022 | 12:00 PM

March is often the time of year in Saskatchewan where winter starts a tentative transition into spring. This week, however, it’s going to be caught somewhere between the two seasons.

With some freezing cold mornings immediately ahead and a quick in-and-out rise in temperature on the horizon for the weekend, it’s shaping up to be a weird few days even by Saskatchewan standards. It kicks off with a much colder stretch of weather this week.

“Friday morning looks like it’ll be the coldest morning for a while, hopefully for the rest of the season but we’ll see,” Environment Canada’s Terri Lang said. “Temperatures dipping toward that -30 C mark with windchills high again.”

A warm-up is on the way, and not too far away at that, though it does come with its own set of potential issues. After starting March far colder than usual, Saturday will see a quick turnaround.

“This big area of arctic high pressure that’s been over top of us for a few days, it’s finally starting to move over more toward Eastern Canada,” said Lang. “We’ll kind of start to see the temperatures start to moderate. Saturday, there’s a low-pressure system moving through and that’s what’s going to bring the dramatic warm-up.”

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The warm-up brings snow with it, however, and possibly even rain as Saturday will see a high of three degrees. With the temperature swiftly falling to -18 C that night, all that rain could form ice in a real hurry.

“It does look like another rapid freeze thaw,” Lang said, “and then a freeze in behind, which is really problematic for those roads, just with the melting and maybe some snow on top of that, a couple of centimeters worth, and then the freezing in behind, it really ices things up quite quickly.”

After an incredibly up-and-down winter with rapid shifts in temperature, most Saskatchewan residents will be relieved to know that something resembling normal is coming. At least, as normal as weather gets in this part of the world.

“With the westerly flow setting up, we often get more seasonal temperatures, so not big temperature swings or anything like that,” said Lang. “We’re also not looking at any big cool-downs or warm-ups either. We’re still waiting for spring to show up.”

Lang added when Spring does arrive it will be colder than usual, though that doesn’t mean it won’t see some warmer days.

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rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP