For the first time in nearly a month, Weyburn, along with a wide swath of southern Saskatchewan, is seeing a measurable amount of snowfall, and it is expected to stick around as well.  

Weyburn received just 3.9 millimetres (about 0.15 in) of precipitation in December, with most of that coming in one snowfall on December 7th. Now, as we head into the first weekend of January, the flurries started just before noon Friday, and are expected, on and off, right through the weekend.  

“We’re not looking for heavy snowfall out of this event that’s coming today and tonight, maybe a couple of centimetres, maybe four at the top end,” explained Brian Proctor. He is a meteorologist with Environment Canada. He added things are expected to cool down as well, with temperatures, which have been relatively above average in recent weeks, starting to move towards seasonal, or colder.  

“We’re going to such a little bit more Arctic air in, so our highs today are going to be around -4°, Saturday -8°, Sunday -12°,” Proctor stated. “Typically, this time of year, our daytime max should be about -10° and the overnight low is about -20°, and as we start moving into the first real, full week of January, if you want to put it that way, we’re definitely continuing the downward trend in temperatures.”  

That downward trend is expected to continue through the week, with the forecast calling for a daytime high of -24° next Thursday, although that could change as we get closer to the date and the forecast model becomes more accurate.  

The amount of snow, while nowhere close to snowfall warning levels, or even what we are necessarily accustomed to for January, will still be enough to get the shovels out to clear sidewalks and driveways. Driving on the highways is another thing people will need to plan for. 

“They’re definitely going to have to look at adjusting some of their driving habits as they get back out there because we really haven’t experienced a whole lot of snow, so it’s always a little bit of a shot for people’s systems when we start to see it again,” Proctor cautioned about the weather conditions on the highways. Those who do have to travel can stay up to date with the latest highway conditions on the Discover Weyburn Road Report page.