Portage la Prairie residents are in for a cool, unsettled stretch of weather this week, just as students prepare to head back to class on Thursday.
Environment Canada meteorologist Crawford Luke says showers and cooler temperatures will continue through the week, following Monday’s line of thunderstorms.
Thunderstorms bring scattered rain
Luke notes the thunderstorms that rolled through on Monday evening were mostly light for Portage.
“Looks like we kind of had a cluster of thunderstorms that kind of rolled through in the evening hours. For the most part, it looks like it stayed kind of west of Portage,” he says.
He adds that rainfall totals around the city were modest.
“A couple of stations around Portage are showing between one and three millimetres of rain from that thunderstorm,” Luke continues. “So not a huge amount of rain, but it looks like a few areas probably got 15 millimetres or so from that thunderstorm.”
Luke mentions there have been no confirmed reports of hail so far.
“Wouldn’t be surprised if there was some hail, but we just haven’t heard of anything yet in that regard,” he says.
Showers and cooler air through the week
Looking ahead, Luke says residents can expect unsettled conditions to continue.
“We’ve got cooler air filtering in. We’ve got showers lingering today from the system that would have brought those thunderstorms yesterday,” he notes.
According to the latest forecast, Tuesday brings increasing cloudiness with a 30 percent chance of morning showers, followed by a mix of sun and cloud and a high of 17 C. Tonight, mainly cloudy skies and a 60 percent chance of showers, with a low of 7 C, are expected. Wednesday sees a mix of sun and cloud, a 30 percent chance of morning showers, a high of 14 C and an overnight low of plus 3 C.
Thursday, the first day of school, will be cool and rainy, with a high of 11 C and an overnight low of plus 5 C.
“It looks like a cold, rainy day as we have a low-pressure system coming right down from the north, bringing cold air and rain with that,” Luke continues.
Friday and Saturday feature a mix of sun and cloud, with highs of 14 C and 17 C and overnight lows around 6 to 7 C.
Sunday sees a warmer day with a high of 21 C and an overnight low of 8 C.
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Frost concerns
With nighttime temperatures dropping, Luke remarks that some factors may prevent frost from forming despite chilly readings.
“Temperatures are definitely going to be chilly. I do wonder if one thing that might save us a bit is that it looks like we’re going to maintain a breeze. There’s also going to be some cloud cover as well,” he says.
He adds that lighter winds later in the week could create ideal frost conditions.
“Saturday, Sunday, we might have some lighter winds with high pressure centred right over us. Typically, that’s the best setup for frost, so we’ll have to keep an eye on that,” Luke continues.
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