Parts of the Red River Valley saw its first taste of severe Summer weather Thursday night, with Tornado Warnings issued, at points, for the R.M.'s of Morris and De Salaberry, as well as the Municipality of Emerson-Franklin. From when they were first issued, the Warnings were in place for just over an hour.
"The warnings were first issued just before 8 p.m., when RADAR signals indicated a storm near Riverside was showing signs of rotation, which can mean that particular thunderstorm cell could produce a tornado," explained CMOS Accredited Weathercaster Chris Sumner. "As of Friday morning, I haven't heard of any confirmed funnel clouds or touchdowns, but there certainly was very heavy rain and significant amounts of hail in those warned regions, as well as in Winnipeg and west of Steinbach."
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The following totals for Thursday, May 16th, are courtesy PembinaValleyOnline Rainwatchers, Environment Canada and the Manitoba Ag Weather Network:
Brunkild - 27.3mm (almost 1.1 inches)
Morris - 26.2mm
St. Adolphe - 25.0mm (1 inch)
South of Morden - 22.5mm (9/10)
Elie - 12.1mm (about half inch)
Winnipeg (The Forks) - 11.0mm
Woodmore - 10mm (4/10th)
Winkler - 9.3mm
St. Pierre - 7.9mm (3/10th)
Kleefeld - 4.0mm
Emerson - 3.8mm
25mmm = 1 inch
Sumner noted the stormy weather could possibly continue Friday afternoon and evening, with a wet start to May Long possible.
"A low pressure system currently moving across the southern Prairies will be bringing in warm, humid air to the region today with its relatively strong southeasterly winds gusting to 50 km/h at times," he said. "That will set the stage for an unstable atmosphere that just requires a trigger to get things started, and that will be the cold front sweeping through from this low. We will also be keeping an eye on thunderstorms that may be possibly on the southside of the border, and forecast to travel northward through the Dakotas and possibly crossing the international border."
Sumner noted there will be a severe thunderstorm risk late Friday afternoon and well into the evening, with all hazards possible including heavy rain, hail and strong winds, as well as the risk for tornado development if strong enough storms occur.
The combination of both could lead to 10 to 20 mm of rainfall Friday night, with potentially lingering showers Saturday morning.
"This low will have a difficult time moving eastward out of our region due to high pressure to our east, and that is setting the stage for a damp start to Saturday," he added. "We're also expecting westerly winds to pick significantly throughout the first part of the day, possibly gusting to 70 km/h by early afternoon."
Highs on Saturday will top out between 15 and 17 degrees, several degrees below average for this point in May which is around 21.
"We're expecting the remaining cloud cover from that low to clear out Saturday night, setting up a partly sunny Sunday and allowing temperatures to rebound somewhat, more than likely around 18 to 20 degrees," he said. "As we look into Victoria Day Monday, yet another disturbance, this time a low moving through the U.S Plains, could possibly bring another round of showers to wrap up the weekend, but at this point the forecast models are split on whether it will move far enough north to impact Southern Manitoba."
Daytime highs Sunday are expected to be between 18 to 20, with Monday cooler as a northerly flow develops pushing cooler air into the region.
