According to many of our PembinaValleyOnline Rainwatchers, last night's thunderstorms had more bark than bite with brief gusty winds, isolated downpours, frequent lightning and quite the cloud display in some regions. Severe Thunderstorm Warnings were issued for a number of Municipalities Thursday including Louise, Dufferin, Thompson, Roland and Morris, with a Severe Thunderstorm Watch in effect for much of the region during the evening hours.
"An approaching cold front was the trigger that kicked off the activity we saw last night," said CMOS Accredited Weathercaster Chris Sumner. "The relatively warm, and somewhat humid airmass, we had over the region was the fuel necessary to set the stage for these storms. It appears, once again, the measurable rain was hit or miss, at best, with the brief strong wind gusts the bigger story with this event."
According to the Manitoba Ag Weather Network, a wind gust of 101 km/h was recorded near Morris last night, followed by gusts of 96 km/h at Clearwater, 81 km/h at Somerset, 73 km/h at Jordan.
"Those gusts will have more than likely been from the strong downdrafts coming out of these thunderstorms," noted Sumner. "We've yet to receive any reports of damage, but considering how strong they were, I wouldn't be surprised to hear of some trees toppled, limbs snapped and some shingles blown off."
The following precipitation totals are courtesy PembinaValleyOnline Rainwatchers, Environment Canada and the Manitoba Ag Weather Network:
Morris - 14.6mm (almost 6/10)
Jordan corner - 9.1mm
Steinbach - 7.0mm (3/10th)
Kane - 8.0mm
Pilot Mound/Carman - 5.2mm (2/10)
Manitou - 4.5mm
Winnipeg (The Forks) - 4.3mm
Dominion City - 3.6mm
Elm Creek - 2.1mm
Altona - 2mm
Morden - 1.9mm
Emerson/Winkler (south of city) - 1.8mm
Gretna - 1.1mm
25mm = 1 inch
And with the cold front now past from the low pressure system responsible for the stormy weather yesterday, Sumner noted Friday will be a cooler day, with a northwesterly flow pushing below average temperatures into the region. Gusts up to 50 km/h today, alongside daytime highs between 21 and 23. Average daytime highs for this point in July are around 26 degrees, with overnight lows of 13.
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"The cooler conditions won't last too long," noted Sumner. "Surface high pressure builds in throughout the day, with a mainly sunny Saturday and Sunday. Highs will be seasonal, around 25 to 27. The next chance for showers and thunderstorms comes late Sunday afternoon and evening, when the next cold front moves through the region. An upper level low centred over Hudson Bay will help pull in warm, moist air throughout the day via a southwesterly flow, and that will be followed by the passage of a cold front that evening. At this point, it looks like there is a slight chance for severe thunderstorms Sunday night."
Looking ahead to next week, according to Sumner, the early guidance from the long-range forecast models is for generally sunny conditions, and temperatures starting off cool on Monday, and then warming throughout the week.
"There is some disagreement on how much of a role that upper level low will play in our forecast next week, and whether it will lead to multiple chances of showers and thunderstorms," he said. "That will be dependent on its movement over Hudson Bay, so we'll have to see how that plays out."
The below time lapse video of storm clouds rolling over Winkler was submitted by Adam Loewen.