The Pembina Valley is waking up to a smoky Friday morning, with a plume of forest fire smoke from northern Saskatchewan and Manitoba being pushed into the region.
"Gusty northerly winds are moving that smoky airmass into our area in behind a cold front which moved through earlier today," explained CMOS Accredited Weathercaster Chris Sumner. "The smoky conditions won't last long, as winds are forecast to turn southerly Saturday as we enter another stretch of very hot and dry conditions for Mother's Day weekend."
A Special Air Quality Statement is in effect for all of Southern Manitoba. Northerly gusts up to 50km/h are expected into Friday evening, with a daytime high of 20 degrees.
"Winds turn southerly Saturday morning as a warm front arrives, and that will help push the smoke out of the area," he added.
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The coming Mother's Day weekend could be on the hottest on record, with Environment Canada projecting highs between 30 and 35 degrees. 19 degrees and 5 degrees are the current respective daytime and overnight averages for this point in May.
"Similar to last weekend, upper level ridging will allow a very warm, and dry airmass from the U.S. southwest to be pushed into Southern Manitoba," said Sumner. "That will bring the well above average temperatures and low humidity levels Saturday through at least Monday. With all this in mind, the wildfire risk will continue to be substantial in our area."
- With files from Connie Bailey -