The first round of measurable precipitation for some areas in about three weeks moved through the region late Saturday afternoon and evening.
“A trough of low pressure was crossing through the province, and it brought an area of shower activity that developed late in the day,” explained CMOS Accredited Weathercaster Chris Sumner. “The totals are not that significant, but enough to have our Rainwatchers checking their gauges Sunday morning.”
Get your Thanksgiving weekend forecast here.
The following totals are for Saturday, October 12th and are courtesy PembinaValleyOnline Rainwatchers, Environment Canada and the Manitoba Ag Weather Network:
Morris – 10.6mm (just over 4/10th)
Dominion City – 10.4mm
Rosenfeld - 10mm
Steinbach – 8.9mm
Carman – 7.8mm (about 3/10th)
Kane - 7.1mm
Elm Creek – 7.0mm
Emerson – 6.0mm
Plum Coulee - 5.74mm
Jordan/Gretna – 5.5mm (just over 2/10th)
Reinland - 3.5mm
Morden (AAFC Station) – 2.6mm
Winkler (south of city) – 2.2mm
Manitou – 0.6mm
25mm = 1 inch
Sumner noted, in behind the trough, surface high pressure is building into the region, and the jet stream is also getting pushed southward.
“Those two elements added together mean the arrival of a much more seasonal Fall pattern compared to what we’ve had so far in October,” he said. “Northwesterly winds will usher in a cooler airmass today, and the sky will stay mainly sunny today through Thanksgiving Monday and Tuesday.”
The average daytime high right now is 11 degrees, with the overnight low around 0.
“It’s also looking likely that we’ll see our first widespread killing frost of the season, with overnight lows Sunday and Monday night expected to dip well below freezing, between -3 and -5, and staying there for several hours,” he added.
Looking beyond the weekend, Sumner noted the forecast models are suggesting another warm up to above average temperatures by mid-week.
“The area of high pressure building over the province today will begin to slide southward Tuesday, and that will help a ridge build over the area and shift winds to southerly,” he said. “That means we could be looking at a coupe days, most likely Wednesday and Thursday, that could reach the upper teens or even flirt with 20 degrees for daytime highs.”
According to Sumner, the return to really above average conditions will be brief, with highs cooling a few degrees in time for the weekend, but the general trend in the forecast is for somewhat warmer than average temperatures to continue for a few additional days.