After a couple of weeks of mild weather — and some record-setting warmth — winter has returned southern Manitoba.

A cyclist rides through some light snow on Portage Avenue on Thursday morning. (Jeff Stapleton/CBC) A low pressure system tracking across southern Manitoba is expected to bring five to 10 centimetres of snow to the Parkland, Red River Valley and Whiteshell regions, says a special weather statement issued by Environment Canada for nearly all of southern Manitoba.

The flakes started falling around 5 a.m. in Winnipeg, leaving a thin, slick layer for morning commuters, while freezing rain began much earlier in areas of southwest Manitoba.

The aras in grey are under a special weather statement issued by Environment Canada. (Environment Canada) As the low passes by, gusty northerly winds will develop, whipping up the fresh snow and causing poor visibility, the weather statement says.

The snowfall tapers off this afternoon and into the evening hours, but colder air will slump southwards into the region, starting a trend toward more seasonal conditions for mid-December, Environment Canada forecast.

Normal temperatures for this time year in southern Manitoba are are daytime high of –9 C and overnight low of about –19 C.

Broken records

By the way, five weather records were broken on Wednesday by the unseasonable warmth.

Winnipeg reached 5.6 C, breaking the old record of 5.1 C, which was set in 1990.

CBC meteorologist John Sauder's Thursday weather forecast 0:53 Records were also broken in Melita, Pilot Mound and Portage la Prairie, but the warmest place in the province was Gretna, where the mercury peaked at 11.6 C, shattering the old record of 6 C, set in 2002.

Winnipeg forecast for Thursday

High –1 C.

Cloudy with wet snow tapering off in the afternoon.

North wind at 10-20 km/h in the morning.

Wind changes to northwest at 30-50 km/h in the afternoon.

TONIGHT cloudy.

Wind becoming light near midnight.

Overnight low –6 C.

John Sauder's weather journal for Dec. 10