Eastern Prairies snowstorm and long-range update
By
Brett Anderson, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Updated Apr 12, 2021 3:48 PM EDT
A large, stalled storm near Lake Superior will continue to send moisture back into the cold, southeastern Prairies region through Tuesday. The result will be steady snowfall from southeastern Saskatchewan through much of southern Manitoba and into parts of northwestern Ontario.
A few things to note, the upward motion (rising air) over this region does not look overly impressive for much of the period, thus the snowfall rates will generally be moderate in nature. Even though some places may get over 25 mm of liquid equivalent for the entire event, which would say at least 25 cm (10 inches of snow) will fall (if you are measuring every inch that falls on a snow board and then wiping it off), the actual amount of snow that most people may see on the ground may be half of that for many locations. The reason for this is the time of year, as the ground temperatures are well above freezing, and unless you are seeing heavy snowfall rates, a significant amount of that light to moderate snow will be melting as it reaches the ground.
The map below shows the AccuWeather snowfall forecast through Tuesday. It does look like the highest amounts will be over southern Manitoba. Most areas in the 15-30 cm range will likely end up with the lower end of that range in terms of actual accumulation on the ground.
If you are traveling, the best time to travel will likely be during the afternoon hours as that April sun (despite it being cloudy and snowing) will be going to work on the roads. Roads and especially bridges and overpasses may be very slick during the overnight and morning hours.
Long-range forecast
Blocking pattern will likely keep much of southeastern Canada and the eastern United States unseasonably chilly and unsettled into late April before a more zonal (west to east flow) returns and sends temperatures back closer to normal.
Forecast confidence for early May is still low at this point due to conflicting signals.
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Weather Blogs / Canadian weather
Eastern Prairies snowstorm and long-range update
By Brett Anderson, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Updated Apr 12, 2021 3:48 PM EDT
A large, stalled storm near Lake Superior will continue to send moisture back into the cold, southeastern Prairies region through Tuesday. The result will be steady snowfall from southeastern Saskatchewan through much of southern Manitoba and into parts of northwestern Ontario.
A few things to note, the upward motion (rising air) over this region does not look overly impressive for much of the period, thus the snowfall rates will generally be moderate in nature. Even though some places may get over 25 mm of liquid equivalent for the entire event, which would say at least 25 cm (10 inches of snow) will fall (if you are measuring every inch that falls on a snow board and then wiping it off), the actual amount of snow that most people may see on the ground may be half of that for many locations. The reason for this is the time of year, as the ground temperatures are well above freezing, and unless you are seeing heavy snowfall rates, a significant amount of that light to moderate snow will be melting as it reaches the ground.
The map below shows the AccuWeather snowfall forecast through Tuesday. It does look like the highest amounts will be over southern Manitoba. Most areas in the 15-30 cm range will likely end up with the lower end of that range in terms of actual accumulation on the ground.
If you are traveling, the best time to travel will likely be during the afternoon hours as that April sun (despite it being cloudy and snowing) will be going to work on the roads. Roads and especially bridges and overpasses may be very slick during the overnight and morning hours.
Long-range forecast
Blocking pattern will likely keep much of southeastern Canada and the eastern United States unseasonably chilly and unsettled into late April before a more zonal (west to east flow) returns and sends temperatures back closer to normal.
Forecast confidence for early May is still low at this point due to conflicting signals.