It was a stormy late afternoon and evening Wednesday for parts of Southern Manitoba as a weak low pressure system moved through the province, kicking off storm development which reached severe criteria in a number of regions. Severe Thunderstorm Warnings were issued at points for the Municipalities of Pembina, Louise, Dufferin, Grey, MacDonald and Morris. Winnipeg was also under a warning at one point, as well as areas of southeastern Manitoba including the Vita, Buffalo Point, Piney and parts of the Whiteshell.
"The real attention grabber was when a Tornado Warning was issued for the Assessippi and Riding Mountain National Park region of Western Manitoba," noted CMOS Accredited Weathercaster Chris Sumner. "The warning was prompted when Environment Canada RADAR indicated a rotating thunderstorm in the region. Thankfully, the warning didn't last long. There certainly were some dramatic vistas in the sky over the Pembina Valley, but for the most part, the rain and the severe weather missed our region."
The following totals are courtesy PembinaValleyOnline Rainwatchers, Environment Canada and the Manitoba Ag Weather Network:
Rosa - 22.0mm (around 9/10th)
Brunkild - 20.4mm (about 8/10th)
Woodmore - 17.5mm (7/10th)
Clearwater - 13.5mm
Cartwright - 13.2mm
Dominion City - 6.7mm
Elm Creek - 4.6mm (just under 2/10th)
Carman - 4.1mm
Emerson - 3.5mm
Gretna - 1.7mm
25mm = 1 inch
"Looking ahead to the rest of the week, we'll see calmer conditions Thursday through Saturday as high pressure helps keep things relatively sunny and seasonal for this time of year," explained Sumner. "Highs between 25 and 28 are expected over that stretch, and there will be some humidity to deal with, but it shouldn't feel too uncomfortable, especially with some cloud cover from time to time providing shade periodically."
As for the weekend, at this point, Sumner is expecting the unsettled pattern to continue.
"As that area of high pressure moves eastward, that will allow our next rain maker to knock at our door," he said. "A couple of low pressure systems, one from the West and the other sneaking up from the Dakotas, will bring the potential for showers Saturday night into Sunday, and possibly a thunderstorm, or two. I'm also keeping an eye on the risk for severe thunderstorm development Saturday night as that second low moves through the region."