Elsewhere in Weather News: May 12th, 2012

Matthieu Leave a comment

China Gets Battered by Torrential Rains

On the afternoon of Thursday May 10th, the north-west part of China (province of Gansu) saw severe thunderstorms roll through its higher elevations and bring with them dangerous hail and downpours that wreaked havoc across the region. With heavy rains being the most threatening hazard in this part of the country because of the mountains and easily-triggered mudslides, around 3,000 residents were evacuated for precautionary measures in the areas most prone to flooding.

Residents evacuating

After heavy rains fell many residents had to be evacuated or rescued as roads were blocked off. (Source: Shanghai Daily)

As the large hail and heavy rain fell, the Minxian County in the province of Gansu was hit the hardest when 70mm of rain fell in about an hour. Mudslides and large hail impacted the county significantly as they destroyed 7,000 acres of farm fields, closed roads leading in and out of the county including a large interstate, and damaged more than 30,000 houses. The mudslides also sent 40 people to hospital, killed 37 others, and the toll may rise as over 20 other residents are still missing. In total, 17 of the 18 townships in the region were affected – this comprises of one fifth of the county’s entire population. China’s flood control headquarters issued more warnings in the same regions on Friday in an effort to raise awareness about the dangers of flash floods and the need to prepare for another possible bout of heavy rains again this weekend. The Red Cross chipped in by donating quilts and coats to the now homeless, and Chinese government pledged $320,000 to fix damaged schools, hospitals and water treatment plants.

Torrential rains

Roads become small creeks as torrential rains fall in the province of Gansu, China. (Source: China.org.cn)

About 3,000 first response workers, still battling with Mother Nature’s wrath, worked fervently around the clock on Friday evening, one day after the storms struck, to find those still missing.

One Cool Day Before Warmer Weather Returns

Brad Leave a comment

With the passage of a powerful cold front that swept through Southern Manitoba last night, we’ll see a slightly cooler day today before another upper ridge builds back into the Prairies.

500mb Winds

500mb wind field from the GEMGLB model portraying the incoming upper ridge. Image is valid for 00Z Sun May 13.

Temperatures will be slightly cooler today with daytime highs only around 15°C. Fortunately, skies will be sunny and the wind will be a bit calmer out of the west at around 30km/h. An upper ridge begins to build back into the Prairies for the weekend, though, once again pushing our temperatures up. We’ll see mainly sunny skies and temperatures climbing into the low 20’s by the end of the weekend.

Summer Returns to Southern Manitoba…For a Short While

Brad Leave a comment

Beautiful weather is on tap for Southern Manitoba with plenty of sunshine the next couple days and positively summer-like temperatures. Things will return back to normal on Friday, after a cold front sweeps across the province on Thursday night.

500mb Winds/Height for Wednesday Evening

500mb Winds & Heights from the GEMGLB, valid for 00Z Thursday 10 May. The upper ridge has been highlighted over Manitoba.

A deep southerly flow has moved into Southern Manitoba underneath an upper ridge sliding east over the Prairies, pushing warmth from the Central Plains of the United States into our area. Temperatures will climb to around 20°C today with winds increasing to 20-30km/h out of the south by the afternoon. Temperatures will only drop to around 10-12°C tonight as the southerly winds keep our temperatures up in this warmer air mass.

Tomorrow the real heat moves in, and we’ll see temperatures soar in the Red River Valley, with daytime highs between 24 – 27°C. We’ll see a bit more cloud, though, and dewpoints in the low teens will make it feel closer to 30°C.

Day 2 Thunderstorm Outlook valid 21Z May 10 to 12Z May 11

Day 2 thunderstorm outlook, valid from 21Z May 10 (Thursday afternoon) to 12Z May 11 (Friday morning). No severe thunderstorms are expected.

By tomorrow evening, a cold front sweeping across the province will move into the Red River Valley. With the extra moisture in the air from the higher dewpoints, CAPE values will be enhanced slightly, and we’ll be looking at 500-750J/kg of CAPE as the front pushes into the RRV. A band of showers and thunderstorms will fire along the cold front on Thursday afternoon over SW Manitoba and continue eastwards through the evening, crossing the RRV through the evening and pushing through the Whiteshell overnight.

Seasonal conditions are expected to return for Friday into the weekend.

Showers Today to Give Way to a Beautiful Week

Brad Leave a comment

A well-developed upper low will blanket the Winnipeg & the Red River Valley with showers today as it slides southwards into the Northern Plains. Its exit will leave room for an upper ridge to build in from the Pacific Coast, flooding the southern Prairies with some beautiful warm and sunny days.

GEMREG 24hr. QPF valid Tuesday morning

24 hour accumulated rainfall from the GEMREG model valid for Tuesday morning.

Winnipeg will see showers off and on today with a cool daytime high of around 13°C. Winds will be in the 20-30km/h range, starting out of the SW and switching to the NW this afternoon. Conditions will be similar through much of the Red River Valley, with temperatures generally between 12-15°C and similar winds. Showers will clear from north to south overnight, with only a slight chance of some lingering showers or drizzle through the Morder/Winkler, Altona & Gretna areas first thing tomorrow morning. In total, most areas in the Red River Valley, including Winnipeg, will see 4-8mm of rain by the time the showers clear out.

We’ll see sunny skies tomorrow through the entire Red River Valley, with highs from 12-15°C again and northerly winds from 20-30km/h. For the rest of the week, we’ll see a big warm up as mild Pacific air pushes into our area. Currently, it looks like Wednesday will have high temperatures near 20°C and Thursday will push even higher towards the mid-20’s. Things will cool off for the end of the week as a cold front pushes through and brings with it showers and a slight chance of thunderstorms across the Red River Valley.