The southeast is gearing up for a weekend of clear skies and warmer temperatures following a brief period of storms this week.
Environment Canada meteorologist Terri Lang explained that a low-pressure system moving in from Montana brought thunderstorms and strong winds but caused minimal rain and damage.
“So, the flow around these types of low-pressure systems is counterclockwise. When the low-pressure system is to the south and west of southeastern Saskatchewan, it brings in a southerly flow of warm and, in this case, unstable air, which led to some showers and thunderstorm activity,” she said.
Lang noted that while lightning was significant, there was little rain and minimal storm-related damage. “There were some strong wind gusts, with the maximum reaching over 80 kilometers per hour,” she added.
The storm featured impressive lightning, but Lang pointed out, “You can't get lightning without thunder.” She further explained, “With lightning you get thunder, but if you can't hear the thunder, that means the lightning is far away. Or the atmosphere sometimes deflects the thunder so that you can’t hear it. It just has to do with atmospheric conditions. So it just means the storms weren't directly overhead.”
Looking ahead, Lang said the weather is set to improve over the weekend. “It looks like a nice weekend ahead as this system moves into northern Saskatchewan. The showers and clouds should clear later today, so the weekend is expected to be fairly pleasant,” she said.
She also mentioned that we can anticipate a breezy day tomorrow with sunshine on Sunday. “It looks like a brilliant day with temperatures reaching 27 degrees, while the average highs are around 18 degrees, so I think that’s pretty nice for this time of year,” Lang said.
Another weather system is expected to move into the area early or mid-next week.
“It will bring some warmer temperatures, with temperatures staying well above average, but probably some rain moving in later in the day on Tuesday and into Wednesday,” she said.