Southern Manitoba is experiencing temperatures that are well above normal for this time of year.

On Wednesday, Steinbach reached 5.4 degrees Celsius. Even though that is not a record for November 29th, it is 11 degrees warmer than normal for this time of year. According to Environment Canada the warmest November 29th ever recorded in Steinbach was 6.5 degrees, back in 1997. That year happened to have a brown Christmas.

Meteorologist Natalie Hasell says southern Manitoba is currently south of a front, which is keeping the colder air to the north of us. She notes we will not see a huge difference in temperatures over the next while in the Red River Valley. 

Over the next week, Environment Canada is calling for highs between +1 and -4 in Steinbach. Overnight lows are also expected to remain well above normal. The average low for Steinbach this time of year is -15 degrees. Over the next week, the temperature is not expected to dip below -11 degrees. 

Readerboard at SCU shows 6 degrees on Wednesday

Meanwhile, Weatherlogics is already looking ahead at the possibility of a brown Christmas on the Prairies. According to Weatherlogics, Winnipeg has a white Christmas 97 per cent of the time. A white Christmas is defined as having at least two centimetres of snow on the ground at 6 am CST on December 25th. Weatherlogics is reporting that due to the influence of El Nino, there is a greater than normal chance for a brown Christmas this year.

Hasell says since 1997, Winnipeg has had a brown Christmas three times. Those years were in 1997, 2014 and 2019.

 

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