PembinaValleyOnline News

After a wet and windy start to May Long Weekend last week, it appears this coming weekend will have a similar theme, albeit with even more precipitation in the forecast. Environment Canada has issued Rainfall Warnings for much of Southern Manitoba from as far west as the Killarney area through Manitou, Pilot Mound, Morden, Carman, Winkler, Altona, Emerson, Morris and all of Southeastern Manitoba.

Between 50 and 60mm is being forecast, at this point.

Much of Southern Manitoba kicked off May Long weekend in a stormy fashion, with Severe Thunderstorm Watches, and a handful of Warnings, in place for nearly the entire region at some point Friday afternoon into the late evening hours.

Parts of the Red River Valley saw its first taste of severe Summer weather Thursday night, with Tornado Warnings issued, at points, for the R.M.'s of Morris and De Salaberry, as well as the Municipality of Emerson-Franklin. From when they were first issued, the Warnings were in place for just over an hour.

The unsettled pattern this week continued Wednesday with a second round of showers in about as many days.

"Most areas in the Red River Valley and Southeastern Manitoba received two distinct periods of rain," explained CMOS Accredited Weathercaster Chris Sumner. "The first was late Wednesday morning for an hour or two, with the second starting mid to late evening and continuing into the overnight. Similar to earlier in the week, there were heavier bands within the low impacting the region, and that's why we're seeing such variation in totals."

A week of unsettled weather before the arrival of May Long Weekend kicked off Tuesday, as the region looks ahead to not only the unofficial start to Summer, but also several rounds of showers over the course of the next few days.

Updated at 6:35pm Saturday, May 11th - all severe thunderstorm watches west of the Red River have ended. There is a 60% chance of showers or thunderstorms this evening, with strong winds continuing until diminishing overnight.

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An unusually warm May 11th may end with another couple of rare for this time of year weather events; strong to severe thunderstorms and poor air quality due to wildfire smoke.

The upcoming strategic planning ‘Lunch and Learn’ hosted by Homefield People and Strategy (HPS) is free and could help your business grow but you need to sign up now.

Brynden Devenny is the Manager of Client Experience at HPS says, “It's an opportunity to come together with other leaders in the community and just talk about what are your goals? What are your priorities? How are you going to take your business from where it is to where you actually want it to be?”

After a stretch of cooler than average temperatures, and on-again off-again showers, Southern Manitoba is heading into a pattern shift which will bring a return to sunnier and drier conditions.

After Saturday’s announcement of a major seizure of firearms, ammo, prohibited weapons and items related to the manufacture of prohibited firearms and devices Winkler Police say the “Project RECOIL” investigation continues.

“At this point, I would consider the investigation ongoing,” stated Patrol Sergeant Brad Goertzen when asked whether additional charges could be forthcoming. “As mentioned earlier, there is a significant amount of additional work to be done analyzing and examining seized evidence before police can determine whether or not additional charges will be laid.”

A 22 year old Winkler man is facing a long-list of charges after a multi-agency firearms manufacturing investigation called “Project RECOIL” led to his arrest April 29th. The investigation included Winkler and Morden Police Services, as well as the RCMP D Division National Weapons Enforcement Support Team (NWEST).

The investigation began February 1st after police learned the suspect may be manufacturing prohibited firearm suppressors. On April 29th the suspect was safely taken into custody by the Regional Support Tactical Team (RSTT).