You could hear the smiles spreading across faces throughout the Central Plains, Pembina and Red River Valleys Thursday morning as raindrops pattered against windows and roofs. Even though there have been spotty showers and thunderstorms over the past several weeks, large pockets of the region hadn't received measurable precipitation in two to three weeks.
"To say the rain was welcomed by all would be an understatement," said CMOS Accredited Weathercaster Chris Sumner with a chuckle. "I didn't hear one person complain yesterday about the rainy start, and I think the weather was being talked about even more than usual around the breakroom and watercooler."
Sumner explained a low-pressure system crossing through the Dakotas was responsible for the shower activity, which replenished rain barrels somewhat and left puddles, albeit short-lived, before soaking in. For Portage and area producers unfortunately, the total amount of rain was on the low end of the spectrum compared to the rest of the region.
The following totals are from area Rainwatchers, Environment Canada and the Manitoba Ag Weather Network:
Steinbach - 18 mm
Gretna - 16.9 mm
Emerson - 15.8 mm
Killarney - 14.3 mm
Morden - 13.9 mm
Manitou - 11.6 mm
Morris - 11.4 mm
St. Claude - 11.2 mm
Baldur - 10.2 mm
Somerset - 10 mm
Starbuck - 9.8 mm
Stonewall - 9.3 mm
Carman - 8.7 mm
Elm Creek - 7.7 mm
Winnipeg (airport) - 7.6 mm
Elie - 6.5 mm
Austin - 5.9 mm
Bagot - 5.8 mm
Holland - 5.3 mm
Minnedosa - 5.1 mm
Gladstone - 5.0 mm
Alonsa - 4.5 mm
Inwood - 4.1 mm
Amaranth - 4.0 mm
Portage la Prairie - 3.9 mm
25mm = 1 inch
As for the coming weekend, Sumner noted it no longer looks like rain will be a part of the mix.
"The low coming out of the U.S. Rockies which was looking likely to bring more precipitation to Southern Manitoba this weekend, appears like it will take a more southerly track, meaning there is little chance we'll see rainfall from it on our side of the border Saturday or Sunday," explained Sumner. "We will see some cloud cover off the far northern edge of that system, but that's about it. Temperatures will return to seasonal to slightly above Friday through Sunday, landing between 26 and 28."
Get your weekend forecast here.
Early indications for the final week of June are a return to a more active pattern, with multiple chance of showers or thunderstorms in the long-range forecast models. Daytime highs are expected to remain in the mid to upper 20s.