There have only been one or two days this winter that Winnipeggers needed to bring out shovels to clear snow from their sidewalks — the rest of the time a broom would do, if there were any flurries at all.

So far, it's been a snow-rut-free and snowbank-free winter — since Nov. 1, Winnipeg has only had four days with below-normal temperatures, Environment Canada reports.

The areas highlighted in grey are under a special weather statement about the Colorado low. (Environment Canada) But that's probably going to change this week.

A Colorado low is developing in the United States and has Winnipeg in its sights. Those lows are known for producing heavy wintry precipitation, but CBC meteorologist John Sauder doesn't expect this one to bring a major wallop — more of a slight bump.

He expects up to 10 centimetres of snow to fall in the Winnipeg area on Wednesday, with some more blowing snow on Thursday.

There are indications the system could end up producing 10-20 cm of snow over 24 hours for some areas, Environment Canada says.

Temperatures will also start to fall away from the mild, melting conditions that have marked most of December. The high of Thursday will be about –6 C, followed by –8 C on Thursday.

Normal temperatures for this time of year are a daytime high of –10 C and overnight low of –20 C.