Moose Jaw’s weather this week has been nothing short of bitter, as a Siberian cold front took over the city that brought the daytime highs down to -30°C and wind chill values even colder at around -40°C.  

With Christmas only three days away the question remains will it stay this cold once Sunday rolls around?  

Environment and Climate Change Canada Meteorologist, Kyle Ziolkowski has that answer.  

“Temperatures will be climbing around –15 on Saturday and that will continue to climb through the evening and into Christmas Day where things are looking not too bad,” says Ziolkowski. “They should climb around that –5 on Christmas Day for the area.” 

Moose Jaw residents may even see some flurries while unwrapping presents.  

“There’s a little bit of an impulse that’s going to help bring in the warm air but as a result, you’re going to get a little bit of snow. It doesn’t look like a lot of snow, it’s a pretty weak system so nothing to write home about as far as alerts at this time that we’re thinking about.” 

The current forecast is showing a 60 per cent chance of snow on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  

Ziolkowski adds that this drastic change in temperatures is caused by a push of warm air coming from the Pacific Ocean.  

“You’ll start to see some changes on Christmas Eve and the winds will start to kick up out of the south on Friday and will increase into Saturday.” 

The storm began making its way south to the United States on Wednesday night, which will cause temperatures to climb to more of a seasonal level.  

The seasonal daytime high for this time of the year in Moose Jaw is –6.3°C and the average low for December is –16.6°C.  

Since Monday afternoon, an Extreme Cold Warning has been in effect for Moose Jaw and several surrounding communities. With temperatures improving on Friday, people will see that warning end heading into the weekend.  

Ziolkowski does want to remind residents to continue to check their local forecasts, as weather conditions could change at a moment's notice.