‘Sudden onset to winter:’ Saskatchewan bracing for first snowfall

Whether you’re looking forward to it or not, snow is coming — and it’s expected to arrive Monday night.

Brian Proctor, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, says that snow is expected for southern Saskatchewan, but how much will fall is unknown.

“Right now, there is a lot of uncertainty about how much snowfall parts of Saskatchewan are going to see,” Proctor said Friday. “It looks like the southern tier of the province is going to see the most snow associated with this cold arctic outbreak coming down, but we are carrying sort of a patchy snowfall through the Saskatoon area Monday night into Tuesday.”

Proctor also explained that temperatures are going to be changing very drastically over the next couple of days.

“It’s going to be a sudden onset to winter for many, many people,” said Proctor. “One of the key things to be aware of is the changing conditions that are coming,”

The typical daytime high for Saskatoon and Regina this time of year is around 10 C according to Proctor, but both places of late have seen daytime highs around 20 C, which is way above seasonal average.

However, after the weekend, Saskatoon and Regina will see temperatures well below the average daytime high.

Proctor explained why there is going to be such a drastic change in temperatures.

“We’ve got a very, very significant arctic vortex developing right now over the Beaufort Sea,” he said. “What that’s doing is collapsing the ridge and allowing that cold air pipeline to really set up to come down the eastern slopes of the Rockies.”

Proctor also explained that the majority of the snow isn’t expected to stay as most of southern Saskatchewan’s ground is still warm. However, some parts could see the snow stick around long term.

Late October is also considered to be a normal time for Saskatchewan to see its first snowfall, according to the meteorologist.

“It’s pretty normal for us to see it this time of the year. It’s not typical, but it’s not atypical,” Proctor said.

He added that folks should get out and enjoy the warm weather over the weekend before it’s gone.