Manitoba weather: How long will the extreme cold last?

Colleen Bready has your current conditions and updated weather forecast for Jan. 22, 2026.

It’s here - extreme cold has enveloped Manitoba and northwestern Ontario on Thursday.

With the exception of Churchill, every region in Manitoba, and much of northwestern Ontario, is under an orange warning for cold, issued by Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Brace yourself for bitterly cold daytime highs in the upper -20s on Thursday in most regions.

• Hourly and 7-day forecast on our CTVNewsWinnipeg.ca weather hub

Those are just air temperatures. This bitterly cold air mass is also windy. Be prepared for wind chill values that feel close to -40 or colder.

Most southern areas will see a mix of sun and clouds with the off chance of a few flurries on Thursday. That said, northwest winds behind the Arctic front that brought the cold could whip up blowing snow.

Meanwhile, most northern regions will see intermittent light snow on Thursday.

Ahead on Thursday night, overnight lows will drop well into the -30s across southwestern and northern regions. Winnipeg, along with the rest of the southeast, will see lows almost as cold, closer to -30 C.

Don’t expect any relief anytime soon. In fact, conditions will worsen before they improve. Daytime highs will remain in the upper -20s through the weekend in the south, while overnight lows will drop even further on Friday and Saturday nights.

The forecast low for Winnipeg on Saturday night is -37 C.

Relief will finally arrive on Monday with much more tolerable winter temperatures. But ECCC said bitter cold could return late next week.