Prairie forecast: Extended cold snap as Arctic high pressure moves in

Forecast issued Jan. 21, covering Jan. 21 to 28, 2026

Highlights

• Artic high pressure will dominate Prairie weather, which means a low chance of storms or significant precipitation.
• Alberta temperatures will dive from recent mild conditions before warming on Monday.
• Saskatchewan and Manitoba will see bitterly cold temperatures as Artic high pressure dominates.

Overview

The weather models did a fairly good job with last week’s forecast. Winter returned to the eastern half of the Prairies while milder conditions continued to dominate the west, especially Alberta. The models struggled a bit in missing a couple of weaker areas of low pressure that followed last week’s strong Arctic low. These dropped south out of the Arctic and brought whiteout conditions to parts of the eastern Prairies.

This forecast looks fairly straightforward. Cold conditions will continue across the central and eastern Prairies while Alberta sees cooler but not bitterly cold weather.

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If I had to sum up this forecast in three words, they would be: Arctic high pressure. With Arctic high pressure expected to dominate our weather for at least the next seven days, the Prairies will see little in the way of storm systems or significant precipitation. Instead, expect plenty of clear skies and cold temperatures.

Alberta

This forecast period begins with Arctic high pressure sliding southward out of the Yukon and through Saskatchewan on Thursday and Friday. This will keep Alberta on the warmer side of the high pressure, but temperatures will still fall noticeably.

Daytime highs are expected to drop to around -15 to -20 C over central and northern regions by Thursday, while southern regions fall into the -10 to -15 C range. These colder temperatures are expected to persist at least through Saturday.

Over the weekend, a second Arctic high is forecast to dive southeastward through Saskatchewan and into the northern United States by late Sunday. The clockwise circulation around this high will help pull milder Pacific air into Alberta. As a result, daytime highs should moderate back toward the freezing mark over southern regions and into the -5 to -8 C range over central and northern areas by Monday.

These milder temperatures look to hold, with some indications of a stronger push of warmth developing during the second half of next week.

Saskatchewan and Manitoba

This will be a short and cold forecast for Saskatchewan and Manitoba. A few rounds of Arctic high pressure are expected to dominate the weather over the next seven days or more.

The first high is forecast to drop southeastward out of the Yukon and through Saskatchewan on Thursday and Friday. The center of this high is expected to be over southern Saskatchewan and Manitoba by late Friday into Saturday morning. This setup will bring very cold temperatures.

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Overnight lows Friday night into Saturday morning are forecast to fall into the -34 to -36 C range, with some colder pockets possibly dropping close to -40 C under the right wind and sky conditions. Daytime highs over the weekend will struggle to climb above -25 to -28 C. The one small saving grace is that winds are expected to remain fairly light.

A second Arctic high is forecast to drop southeastward on Sunday, delivering a reinforcing shot of cold air. This high will then quickly move south into the United States. This will allow a more westerly flow to develop on Tuesday and Wednesday. That shift should bring some moderation, with daytime highs warming back toward more typical mid-winter values.