After a bitterly cold couple weeks, the west central region is looking to have the pendulum swing in the opposite direction, bringing the mercury above zero for the weekend. 

Alysa Pederson, meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, said that yes, it is true, we can trust the forecast and much warmer days are coming our way. 

"It is going to be quite the change from the minus 40's that were just there, but by this weekend, we are expecting to see temperatures around three or four degrees".

Although the warm weather will be welcomed by many, it's not coming alone. Pederson said residents should expect strong winds to accompany the increase in temperatures.

"We will likely see high winds throughout the weekend and staying through until Tuesday, after that though, they will die down as we get into more seasonal temperatures".

Mid to late next week is when Pederson said we can start to see more normal temperatures, with daytime highs around -5 and overnight lows dropping down to -15 to -20.

Looking past next week, Pederson shared that due to La Nina, they are predicting a colder and possibly longer winter which could have us waiting until the latter part of March for spring-like weather.