Your weekend weather

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/03/2012 (5309 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Weather Column has some good news and bad news to share this morning.

The bad news is you’re going to lose an hour of sleep this weekend; whereas the good news is you’re going to feel a whole lot warmer when you set your clocks ahead for Daylight Savings Time.

This is because, according to Environment Canada, we are looking at a tropical heat wave over the next week. OK, technically, the weather office does not use that phrase, but it does admit it’s going to be a lot warmer than normal.

For example, today’s forecast calls for sun and a daytime high of 5 C, which is nicely above the normal high of -3 C at this time of year. On Sunday, however, the official outlook calls for sun and a dazzling high of (please sit down before reading this next bit) 10 C.

What’s more, glorious highs of 10 C are also predicted for Tuesday and Thursday. What’s up with that? I personally think the weather gods are Jets fans, but Environment Canada sees it differently.

My good buddy Dale Marciski, a senior forecaster and outreach officer with the weather agency, says the Arctic high-pressure system that zapped us Thursday is now in full retreat.

“In the battle between air masses, the warm Pacific air is winning,” Dale says. “The upper air flow is really what determines what happens at the surface. It’s like a river. That river is no longer coming from the north; it’s swinging around and coming from the west and southwest.”

Dale is a little skeptical about our chances of reaching 10 C in Winnipeg, “but there’s going to be a lot of melting this weekend. It’s going to be very wet out there. That’s the price we pay for spring coming.”

Chances are, it’ll be more like 6 C or 7 C in the city on Sunday. Even if we do hit 10 C, it would be short of the record 12.5 C set on March 11, 1981. But let us not fret about records, Winnipeg; let us instead rejoice in the fact spring is about to be sprung earlier than normal. The first thing you need to do is remember to set your (bad word) clocks ahead one hour before going to bed tonight.

Another way to express your joy and remain awake is by heading to the annual Manitoba RV Show at the convention centre today and Sunday. Tickets are $10 plus agency fee at Ticketmaster. It should be almost as exciting as Sunday’s Brier final.

If you’re not into RVs or curling, slap on an engineer’s cap and check out the Winnipeg Model Railway Club’s annual open house from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at Westworth United Church, 1750 Grosvenor Ave. If you’re good, they may even let you blow the whistle.

Or throw on an evening gown and do your best impression of Marilyn Monroe singing: “We’re havin’ a heat wave/A tropical heat wave/The temperature’s rising/It isn’t surprising!”

Can you do that for me? Yes, you certainly can, can can!

doug.speirs@freepress.mb.ca