Warm weather that's been guiding Estevan into the spring months is set to be upset as a spate of cold air is expected this week.

Temperatures will be plunging down starting tomorrow, with daytime temperatures expected to stay well below freezing.

Environment Canada Meteorologist Terri Lang says that first there's a bit more warmth in the area today.

"There's a weather system that's moving through northern Saskatchewan into northern Manitoba, and of course that's bringing in some southerly to southwesterly winds, which we know are very warm winds and there's not much in the way of snow cover around you guys. So very warm temperatures possible today, helping to melt more of that snow."

After the warmth, a cold front will sweep into the southeast.

"We're going to see the winds shift around this afternoon to the northwest, and we know that those are cold winds and there's a big portion of arctic air coming in. Of course, it's going to be somewhat modified this time of year just because the sun is getting higher in the sky, it's warmer, so not as cold as it would be if it was January."

"Temperatures are going to struggle to get into the single digits, even in those overnight lows," said Lang, "Are going to be into the mid-minus teens. So with a little bit of wind, we will see some wind chills as well. So just something to keep in mind that it will be turning a lot colder." 

That cold is expected to stay put later into the week and possibly end up capping off March.

"The overall pattern is trying to change. We'll see if that's another big upper ridge which is bringing in the warmth right now, can rebuild itself," said Lang, "But we kind of have a rule of thumb when it comes to cold air is that cold air generally winds in the battle of cold versus warm air. So often it can hold off for a while, but it looks like certainly staying on the cold side even into the weekend."

Lang says that on the plus side, the current freeze-thaw cycle won't continue as daytime temperatures will plunge.