Last week’s hot and humid conditions gave way to thunderstorms and a subsequent cooling trend in east central Saskatchewan. By the weekend, residents of Humboldt, Watrous, Wadena and surrounding areas can expect a return to skyrocketing temperatures and humidex values.
Environment Canada weather expert Natalie Hassel says the surface and upper-level ridges that ushered in the early July heat are redeveloping, and that means more hot weather.
"The stuff that brought you the heat last week is kind of reemerging or redeveloping into the prairies so we might have a few showery times between now and the really hot stuff that's supposed to happen maybe by the weekend, but generally speaking, we're talking about, not a lot of precipitation after today. Then these warmer and warmer conditions coming up, by the time we get to the weekend, we could see warning criteria."
Hassel says that level of heat can naturally spawn thunderstorms later in the week and into the weekend. It also means that measures to beat the heat will have to be in play for the coming weekend.
"All those precautions that you took last week will probably have to be taken again at this point. We're not thinking that the heat will be quite as bad as it was last week, but I also don't want to say that with any firm decisiveness because some models are suggesting that the temperatures could be really quite hot. So it's important for people to keep paying attention."
Hasell says that people should also keep an eye out for any smoke, with a chance of that appearing this week.
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With files from Discover Estevan.