It seems many people living in southeastern Manitoba are hoping for a wet May long weekend this year. Some would say that rainy weather on the Victoria Day long weekend is a typical forecast. But, with wildfires continuing to burn out of control in this part of the province, many are now hoping for soggy weather to squelch those fires.
Stephen Berg is a meteorologist with Environment Canada. He says the rest of the day should be pretty wet in Steinbach and area. According to Manitoba Agriculture, Steinbach has received 13.8 millimetres of rain since Thursday. Berg says another five to 10 millimetres could fall Friday afternoon and evening. And that could be the last of the rain for the weekend.
For the rest of Friday, Berg says it will be windy, with gusts as high as 80 kilometres per hour. Wind will be from the north, which could push smoke down from the wildfires, causing local smoke or haze. Berg advises people to watch for possible air quality advisories or warnings.
"People need to be aware and make sure they take adequate precautions about that," he urges.
The weather to end the week will be a sharp contrast to what was felt at the start of the week. Earlier this week, southern Manitoba kept breaking daily temperature records as the mercury climbed into the mid to upper 30s. Berg says the forecasted high for Saturday in Steinbach is only six degrees. And he notes there is a chance of frost Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. Saturday's forecasted overnight low is currently -1.
Temperatures could then climb to 14 degrees Sunday and 16 degrees on holiday Monday. Berg says there appears to be a lot of sunshine in the forecast next week, with a chance of precipitation mid to late in the week. By Thursday, we could experience temperatures above 20 degrees again. The normal high for this time of year is 21 degrees.
According to Berg, southern Manitoba is being hit by a Colorado Low, which reached the Dakotas on Thursday. He notes it should reach northwestern Ontario by the end of the day. Berg says it is quite a strong low, with a tight pressure gradient, producing strong winds on Friday.
Berg says by Friday at 11 am, Piney had received about 16 millimetres of rain, which is where wildfires are burning. Hadashville has received about nine millimetres and Marchand 10 millimetres. In Beausejour, only about three millimetres has fallen, and at Falcon Lake only two millimetres. He notes that to the best of his knowledge, there has not been much lightning activity in the areas of the wildfires.
Meanwhile, Berg says it appears that landspout tornadoes touched down Thursday near several different communities in southern Manitoba. He says there are reports that one touched down near Sperling at around 6 pm, near Niverville at around 8:15 pm and then near Gretna sometime between 8 and 9:30 pm. Berg says they are weaker systems and thankfully it appears they did little damage.
Environment Canada is actively seeking pictures of the suspected tornadoes and/or any damage they may have caused. Anyone with information on these potential tornadoes is asked to call 1-800-239-0484, email storm@ec.gc.ca, or post to #mbstorm.