An impressive pattern will develop across the Prairies just in time for the new year next week.
We’re going to see quite the temperature divide slice through the region heading into the opening days of 2025.
Whether you see temperatures 10 degrees above seasonal or 10 degrees below seasonal will depend on where you live.
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Readings have been well above normal this week as a ridge of high pressure dominated the majority of the Prairies.
Things will change through the weekend and into next week, however, as that ridge pushes east and a surge of Arctic air slides down the Rockies.
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A significant north-south temperature divide will bisect the Prairies during the first few days of 2025.
Readings up north will come in 10+ degrees above seasonal for the beginning of January, while folks on the southern and western Prairies deal with temperatures much colder than where they should be for the start of the year.
It’s going to get chilly, but things won’t be quite as cold as what we saw throughout the region in early December.
By this time next week, forecasters expect daytime highs to only crack the minus mid-teens throughout southern Alberta, including Calgary and Edmonton, with the minus-20s possible next door in Saskatoon and Regina.
It’s going to feel even worse with the wind. Expect wind chill values to feel like -30 in some communities as even a slight breeze will exacerbate the effects of the cold on exposed skin.
This cold won’t stick around forever. The pattern responsible for this burst of Arctic air will gradually push east toward the Great Lakes into the first weekend of January, allowing chilly temperatures to spread toward Winnipeg and the rest of southern Manitoba.
Stay with The Weather Network for all the latest on conditions across the Prairies.