A powerful thunderstorm swept through Weyburn Thursday night, drenching the city with the highest recorded rainfall in the province and leading to localized flooding on a number of streets.
Environment and Climate Change Canada meteorologist Crawford Luke confirmed the storm brought 32 millimetres of rain to Weyburn, more than any other monitored location in Saskatchewan.
“Weyburn was the winner in that sense,” Luke said.
While the storm had prompted a tornado warning for some areas as it moved through southern Saskatchewan, Luke said there was only one funnel cloud reported, and that was near Horizon, west of Weyburn.
“Other than that, we haven't had any reports,” he said. “We're not aware of any tornado reports or any damage or anything like that at this time, at least.”
Wind speeds in Weyburn were not as high as anticipated, although they did peak with a gust at 79 kilometres an hour shortly after 7 p.m.
“We had a report of some really strong wind gusts from west of Weyburn and again kind of in that Horizon area,” Luke explained. “So, it does seem like the storm was maybe perhaps at its worst further west.”
With the storm now passed, attention turns to what could be another active day of weather. Environment Canada is warning of the possibility of more thunderstorms on Friday, including the risk of large hail, strong winds, and possibly another tornado, particularly closer to the Manitoba border.
“Certainly, another active day for southeast Saskatchewan looks to be shaping up,” Luke cautioned.
Environment Canada encourages the public to submit any storm-related reports to assist with their tracking and analysis. Reports can be sent via email to skstorm@ec.gc.ca or shared on social media using the hashtag #skstorm.
“Sometimes we only know as much as people share with us,” said Luke. “We definitely appreciate any report we can get.”