Winter will feel a lot shorter than normal and if you're a fan of that, you can thank El Nino.
El Nino is associated with a band of warm ocean water that develops in an area off the coast of South America and it brought forward some incredible conditions right through Christmas. With daytime highs in the positives, it was something that does not happen often.
"What was spectacular was how long it lasted, certainly longer than most people would have thought," said David Phillips, Senior Climatologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada.
Leading into 2024, Phillips says on record, there was just one day that the temperature dipped below minus 20 before the wind chill and in a normal year, there should have been 21 days like that.
There has also not been a single day where the temperature has dipped below minus 30 and in a typical year, there would have been five days that would have so far.
While the beautiful weather was welcomed by most, the flip of the calendar to 2024 has brought cold conditions and they are expected to be chillier as the days go on.
The high on Saturday is minus 26 while the high for Sunday is minus 25. While Saturday's minus 26 forecast is not going to set any records, it could be a sign of things to come.
"We're going to see more of that brutally cold air," said Phillips. "That doesn't mean it is the end of El Nino, but it will go away for now. We're going to see some pretty cold conditions. On the bright side, Manitobans are used to the cold weather so we will get through it."
So you can expect a very cold start to next week; however, David also provides some hope leading into the middle part of next week.
"El Nino could blow again and it will," said Phillips. "When I look forward to the end of next week, they look a lot more promising and positive. We're going to see temperatures that will be less punishing."
David adds that models for January, February, and March are showing milder-than-normal conditions in the province.
"This will be a milder than normal winter, we are all just going to have to deal with some very cold conditions," ended Phillips. "Winter is who we are, it would have been shocking if things continued as they were in November and December."
