PHOTOS: Winter not finished with the Prairies, delivers snowy blast

A low-pressure system brought winter back to parts of the Prairies Tuesday after the month kicked off with a brief fling with spring-like, and even record-breaking warmth.

A band of snow tracked into a good portion of Saskatchewan Tuesday, leading to difficult travel conditions that were reportedly a factor in more than a dozen accidents in Regina. No injuries were reported.

A band of heavy snow also spilled across parts of central Manitoba Tuesday, with the southern edge of the warning region, north of Winnipeg. There were also reports of thundersnow in the afternoon hours, with lightning strikes appearing on radar.

In all, Saskatoon was forecast to see just a few cm of snow accumulate, while Regina and Swift Current could see between 5-10 cm, and Yorkton may get 15 cm of snow by the time it tapered off. The snow will miss Brandon and Winnipeg, but central regions of Manitoba were expected to see 10-20 cm of snow through Wednesday morning.

Prior to the blast of snow, many parts of Manitoba saw record-breaking warm temperatures Monday. Emerson hit 15.9°C, shattering a record from 1898. Winnipeg also saw the warmth, setting a new record of 14.4°C.

While the snow will taper off Tuesday night, with the low trekking into northwestern Ontario, Wednesday will see a brief Arctic blast, sending temperatures plummeting into the minus single digits for central and northern areas, accompanied by wind chills.

After a chilly mid-week, much milder weather will spread west to east across the region late week and weekend, then turning colder for early and middle of next week.

Below is a selection of visuals that have been making the rounds on social media from the wintry blast so far.

Embedded content: https://twitter.com/HouckisPokisewx/status/1369302552169316360?s=20

Thumbnail courtesy of Lisa Boychuk, taken in Canora, Sask.