Tag: Rain

High waves due to the strong winds in Gimli.

Colorado Low Slams Southern Manitoba Over May Long Weekend

Brad 4 Comments

Southern Manitoba was slammed by a powerful Colorado Low this past weekend that brought a wide array of severe weather to the province. Between heavy rain, ice pellets, snow and very strong winds, the storm wreaked havoc on the regions infrastructure with widespread damage to trees, power outages, closed highways, structural damage and overland flooding.

The system was, fortunately, well forecast by Environment Canada with fairly accurate forecasts issued in the days leading up to it alongside special weather statements addressing the numerous impacts the system may have on the region.

Significant Rainfall Began Saturday Afternoon

Fortunately, the weather was able to hold for much of Saturday. Temperatures climbed into the low 20’s across Southern Manitoba with increasing cloudiness. Rain & thunderstorms developed through North Dakota & Montana and lifted northwards through the day, first spreading into SW Manitoba in the afternoon and then eastwards and northwards through the evening and overnight period.

Twitter user @AxeHaft snapped this picture of flooded farmland near Altona, MB.
Overland flooding at the cottages in Albert Beach, MB. Photo via @lovestormsMB.
Acres of flooded farmland between Winnipeg & Portage la Prairie. Photo via @CTVNewsBen.
Overland flooding near Oak Bluff, MB. Photo via @AnitaAnseeuw.

Some of the hardest hit regions were in SW Manitoba where hours of training thunderstorms & convective showers produced moderate to heavy rain. The Melita region was hit the hardest with 72mm of the grand total 90mm of rain falling by midnight on Saturday night. For areas further east, through, much of the rain fell through Saturday night & Sunday. Total rainfall amounts for Saturday and Sunday combined were:

Rainfall Totals for May 16–17, 2015 – Environment Canada & Manitoba Agriculture (*) Stations
Location Rainfall Total (mm)
Melita 90
Bede* 83
Gretna 63
Carman 60
Deloraine* 57
Deerwood 55
Morden 51
Kleefeld 48
Reston* 48
Dugald* 45
Pilot Mound 44
Emerson 43
Pierson* 43
Letellier* 41
Winnipeg (Forks) 41
Portage East* 40
Portage Southport 40
Woodlands* 38
Oak Point 37
McCreary 36
Winnipeg Airport 36
Pinawa 36
Great Falls 34
Carberry 33
Sprague 32
Virden* 30
Brandon 29
Fisher Branch 29
Cypress River 28
Glenboro* 27
St. Pierre* 25
Wasagaming 24
Dauphin 22
Teulon* 21
Killarney* 20
Wawanesa* 20
Minnedosa* 17
Eriksdale* 16
Roblin 16
Souris* 15
Berens River 14

This rainfall is in addition to the 25–50mm of rain many areas in the region saw just a couple days prior to this storm. There were several areas that saw significant overland flooding due to the sheer quantity of water that fell over the short time frame.

Additionally, there were reports of sewage back-up and spotty basement flooding across Winnipeg.

Then Came the Wind

Sunday is where the brunt of the storm impact was felt. As the main low pressure centre lifted northwards into the Dakotas, a strong 1037mb high pressure centre was building into the central Prairies.

Surface analysis for early Sunday morning.
This surface analysis for early Sunday morning shows the strong low in the Dakotas and the strong high building into the central Prairies.

These systems produced a strong pressure gradient over southern Manitoba and produced some of the strongest, longest-duration winds for a major storm in recent memory. Winds were in excess of 50km/h for 20 hours in Winnipeg with a 6-hour stretch beginning late Sunday with winds of 60km/h or greater. Very strong gusts also accompanied the winds with Winnipeg recording the highest wind gust at 93km/h:

Peak Wind Gusts for May 17, 2015
Location Peak Wind (km/h) Time (CDT)
Winnipeg 93 6:44PM
Gimli Harbour 89 9:38PM
Carberry 87 4:57PM
Brandon 83 10:00AM
Kleefeld 81 4:14PM
Cypress River 81 5:01PM
Pilot Mound 81 2:45PM
Gretna 81 2:28PM
Melita 80 6:11PM
Emerson 80 4:21PM
Gimli 80 4:21PM
Porgae la Prairie 80 4:51PM

The winds may have been the most significant impact from this storm. The strong winds resulted in havoc on the highways, property damage, hundreds of downed trees, and widespread power outages. The strong winds also produced significant wave action on Lake Winnipeg and some overland flooding as rising lake levels resulted in the lake overspilling its banks and pushing inland in some locations.

Large tree down in Winnipeg Beach on Spruce Ave. Photo via @SeanLedwich.
A semi-truck blown by strong winds blocking the Trans-Canada Highway into Portage la Prairie. Photo via @ctvwinnipeg.
Strong winds ripped the roof off of The Bridge Church in Winnipeg, MB. Photo via @CTVNewsBen.
High waves due to the strong winds associated with this weekend’s Colorado Low in Gimli, MB. Photo via @OlleBear.
Photo of a downed tree in Winnipeg, MB. Photo via @mikki_co.
Large tree snapped by strong winds in Winnipeg at Corydon & Nassau. Photo via @MattCundill.

Winds tapered off to 40 gusting 60km/h on Sunday night, but remained fairly strong until tapering off Monday afternoon.

Oh, Snow Too

If the rain and the wind wasn’t enough, cold air moving in with the high pressure system resulted in precipitation switching over to ice pellets then snow beginning over Parkland Manitoba and then spreading southeastwards through the Interlake, Red River Valley & Whiteshell through the afternoon and evening. Areas through the Interlake southwestwards towards the Melita region saw the heaviest snow, with MacGregor reporting the highest amount of snow at 15cm. Amounts of 10–15cm were seen from Arnes, on the western shores of Lake Winnipeg, through Teulon, MacGregor, Treherne and down towards Boissevain:

Snowfall Totals for May 17–18, 2015 – EC Spotters & Social Media
Location Snowfall Total (cm)
MacGregor 15
Teulon 15
Arnes 10
Boissevain 10
Treherne 10
Hollow Water FN 5
Albert Beach 5
Dauphin 5
Deloraine 5
Wasagaming 5
Winnipeg 3

In Winnipeg, we saw just a few cm of snow on Friday evening and overnight. Flurries persisted through Monday but temperatures were warm enough to prevent any more accumulation.

Substantial snow accumulation near Teulon, MB. Photo via @TrishG27.
A broken tree sits atop a damaged structure in Dunnottar, MB amidst a fresh coat of snow. Photo via @alan_tabak.
A damaged fence alongside substantial snow accumulation in MacGregor, MB. Photo via @JBMEquiFarms.
MODIS satellite imagery showing the snow swath through the southern Interlake. Photo via @robsobs.

All in all, this was certainly one of the most powerful storms Southern Manitoba has seen in a good long while. Perhaps the best thing that can be said is that at least it happened now and not a month earlier, where almost certainly it would have been a historic blizzard.

Unsettled & Unpleasant May Long Weekend Ahead

Brad 2 Comments

Winnipeg, and many other regions in the Red River Valley, received the most significant rainfall so far this year yesterday as an area of moderate rain moved into the province from North Dakota and stalled out for much of the day. Rainfall totals in most places were near 20–30mm with slightly higher amounts in the southwestern Red River Valley:

Rainfall totals for the May 14, 2015
Location Rainfall Total (mm)
Letellier 41
Altona 37.6
Morris 34.2
Winkler 29.8
Steinbach 27.8
Winnipeg 24
Dugald 22
Elm Creek 12.6
Portage la Prairie 9.6

The Altona/Letellier areas seem to be the winners for total rainfall with almost 1.5” of rain in total. Unfortunately for farmers who are still working at getting seed into the ground, there won’t be much of a reprieve from wet weather before more rain is on the way as another major low pressure system is hot on the heels of the previous one and is set to bring a whole host of unsettled, pleasant and stormy weather for the May long weekend.

Pleasant Friday, then Downhill

Friday
18°C / 7°C
Partly Cloudy

Today will be a very pleasant day across the Red River Valley with mainly sunny skies and temperatures climbing into the high teens under partly cloudy skies. Winds will be fairly light out of the northwest. Friday night will see temperatures drop to around 7°C under clear skies. The nice weather won’t last too long, though, as a potent low pressure system moving into the Northern Plains of the United States tonight will result in cloud and some light rain spreading across Southern Manitoba early on Saturday.  The heaviest rainfall will hold off until much later in the day, however, as this system will end up being strongly driven by convection.

SPC Day 3 Convective Outlook valid Saturday May 16, 2015
SPC Day 3 Convective Outlook valid Saturday May 16, 2015

The SPC[1] in the US currently has a slight risk of severe thunderstorms in their outlook for Saturday scrunched right up the Canadian border. Further north in our area, it looks like an initial shot of some showers associated with elevated convection will lift through the region early in the day. Temperatures will warm towards the 20°C mark with an increasing risk of showers or thunderstorms.

Saturday
20°C / 9°C
Cloudy; scattered showers with the risk of a thunderstorm

Later in the afternoon, best indications at this point are that an area of thunderstorms will initiate in North Dakota and push northeastwards through the Red River Valley. It looks like precipitation will most likely be showers or weak thunderstorms, however the outside chance exists that an isolated severe thunderstorm may be seen. A thunderstorm outlook later will be issued later today covering all of Southern Manitoba.

A few showers will be likely through the overnight hours as the temperature drops to 9°C or so.

Sunday will be the most significant precipitation day with rainfall intensifying through the morning into the afternoon. There’s some uncertainty as to where the western cut-off will be for the rain, but general consensus at this point is that the entirety of the Red River Valley will see rain on Sunday.[2] Total accumulations are hard to nail down at this point, but look to be in the 25–50mm range.

Sunday
10°C / -3°C
Rain

Things take an unwelcome turn on Sunday evening as colder air works its way into Southern Manitoba on the back-side of the system. Rain may become mixed with or switch over to snow as it begins tapering off. No significant snow accumulations are expected. Temperatures will drop off to around –3°C on Sunday night with winds gradually tapering off.

Holiday Monday A Cool Improvement

Looking ahead to the start of next week, it looks like Monday will mark the transition out of this active pattern we’ve been in. Sunny skies and exceptionally cool weather look to be on tap with highs struggling to get to even 10°C[3]. Conditions will improve over the subsequent days with drier weather and temperatures returning to the seasonal mark.

  1. Storm Prediction Center  ↩
  2. The GDPS is a bit of an outlier, keeping rain wrapped tightly to the surface low pressure system in Minnesota and keeping the bulk of Sunday’s rain southeast of Winnipeg.  ↩
  3. Average highs for May 18th are around 21°C.  ↩

More Wet Weather Through Second Half of the Week

Brad 1 Comment

More wet weather is on the way to Winnipeg & the Red River Valley as a slow-moving upper-level disturbance bears down on Southern Manitoba. The bulk of the rainfall associated with this next system will be quite a bit more concentrated than last week’s Colorado Low with much of the precipitation being produced by a single, relatively narrow band of moderate rainfall sliding across the region.

Winnipeg will see a high of around 12°C today with cloudy skies through the day. Shower activity will push northwards through the Red River Valley over the morning hours bringing a decent chance of some rain to Winnipeg by mid-to-late afternoon. Winds will be breezy out of the southeast at around 30km/h with a bit of gustiness on top.

Clouds will stick around tonight as the temperature drops to around 7°C with a continued slight chance of showers through much of the overnight period. The next disturbance will move into Southern Manitoba late overnight, spreading rain from SW to NE starting near the Pilot Mound/SW RRV region and lifting towards Winnipeg.

NAM 12hr. QPF valid 00Z Friday May 15, 2015
The NAM is forecasting around 10-15mm of rain for much of the Red River Valley on Thursday, with some areas seeing as much as 20-25mm.

Thursday will start off as a fairly rainy morning, then see rain taper off from west to east through the afternoon. Skies will remain cloudy through the day with winds out of the east. Expect a high near 13°C. The low on Thursday night will be around 7°C under mainly cloudy skies.

When all is said and done, it’s possible we’ll see somewhere from 10–20mm of fresh rain, however this entire system may end up shifting slightly further west which would leave the Red River Valley fairly dry until remnant showers pass through on Thursday night. We’ll be sure to keep tabs on things as they develop through the day and update with the most likely outcome later tonight.

Friday will bring a break from the gloomy weather as things clear out through the morning, leaving us with sunshine and a high near 19°C and light winds.

Long Range

This weekend will bring another disturbance through the region that has the potential to produce a significant amount of rainfall – 25–50mm – however there’s still a lot of uncertainty associated with the system and many divergent model solutions at the moment. It will likely be a generally unsettled week at best, and potentially a downright rainy one at worst. Some forecasts are showing some fairly favourable convective parameters on Saturday that would hint towards the first significant thunderstorm day of the year, but a decent capping inversion looks to keep things at bay as long as the current forecasts hold out.

Warmer Weather Returns for the Weekend

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The brief cool-down in the wake of a relatively short-lived, but potent storm will come to an end this weekend thanks to another low pressure system moving across the Prairies that will bring a warm front across the province over the next couple days.

Friday
-1°C / -7°C
Mainly cloudy with a chance of flurries

Saturday
7°C / 1°C
Increasingly cloudy & windy

Sunday
7°C / -2°C
Clearing & windy

Today will see cloud moving in through the morning as a weak disturbance moves into western Manitoba. While this system will bring 2–4cm of snow west of the Red River Valley, here in Winnipeg we’ll see just a slight chance of a light flurry or two. Further west in the Red River Valley – near Portage la Prairie S/SE down towards Morden & Winkler – will likely see a bit of light snow today, but no significant accumulations from it. Winds will be around 20km/h or so out of the south and Winnipeg will see a high temperature near –1°C. Skies will clear this evening as temperatures head to a low near –7°C.

Saturday will be a warm but windy day as a warm front moves into the Red River Valley. Temperatures will climb to an above-normal[1] 7°C under increasingly cloudy skies. Winds will pick up fairly early in the day and strengthen out of the south to 40–50km/h.

Saturday Night
1°C
Rain overnight

A low pressure system will track through Manitoba on Saturday night. The biggest impact from this storm will be felt in Central and Northern Manitoba where up to 10cm of snow may fall. Further south, we’ll see an area of rain move across the region beginning early Saturday evening and tapering off sometime mid-overnight.

Generally speaking, somewhere between 2–5mm of rain is likely to fall. Winds will taper off in the evening as the Red River Valley moves into the trough of this system, and then pick up again out of the northwest once the low passes. The wind will likely strengthen to around 40km/h by Sunday morning.

GDPS 12hr. QPF valid 12Z Sunday March 29, 2015
12hr. accumulated precipitation amounts forecasted by the GDPS for Saturday night.

Sunday will see clearing skies and a high once again near 7°C. Winds will remain strong out of the northwest at 40–50km/h into the early afternoon before tapering off.

Long Range

The long-range forecast looks quite nice through the first half of next week. Both Monday & Tuesday look to bring fairly sunny skies and highs somewhere in the 5–10°C range. Things take a bit of a turn mid-week when a low pressure system is forecast to move across the Prairies and potentially bring another snow event to the Red River Valley.

  1. Normal daytime highs for this time of year in Winnipeg are near +3°C.  ↩