Cold to follow biggest snow of the season for parts of the Prairies

This winter hasn’t felt very wintry on the Prairies. January’s bitter chill got washed out amid a sea of above-seasonal temperatures blanketing the heart of the country so far this season.

Never say never when it comes to the weather, and winter certainly isn’t done with us yet.

A pattern change in progress should bring a classic wintry feel to break the monotony of our seemingly never-ending November across the region.

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Temperatures have been pretty mild so far this season, with one of the warmest Decembers on record seeping into the swingy extremes of January.

The persistent warmth and relatively calm pattern has taken a toll on snowfall totals across the Prairies, with most of the region coming in solidly below seasonal through this point in the month. Edmonton has only seen 35 percent of its normal snowfall this winter.

We’ll head into Sunday with a sharp temperature divide across Alberta. Accumulating snow will begin to fall in Edmonton even as communities to the south push into the upper single digits and near the 10-degree mark.

A low-pressure system moving out of the Rockies will traverse the central Prairies through Sunday and into Monday, laying down a blanket of snow from the Alberta foothills to the Manitoba Lakes.

The heaviest snow will fall to the north of the low, largely missing southern sections of the Prairies.

We’ll likely see 15-20 cm of snow on the ground around Edmonton by Monday morning. Similar totals will slice through central Saskatchewan, clipping both Prince Albert and Saskatoon to start the week.

Snow will spread across southern Manitoba through Monday, bringing a modest blanket of 5-10 cm to the Winnipeg area. Higher totals are likely north toward the lakes.