Winnipeg parched in June, little relief in sight

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This article was published 03/07/2025 (267 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

This June was the fifth-driest in Winnipeg during the 151 years weather data has been collected.

Manitoba’s capital had only 23 millimetres of precipitation, which is 31 per cent of normal rainfall, statistics from Environment and Climate Change Canada show.

“It’s definitely dry and this is exacerbating the problems that are out there,” said Environment Canada meteorologist Brian Proctor.

The driest June on record was in 1961, when a mere 7.1 mm of rain fell.

In Brandon in June, there was 32.8 mm of precipitation, much less than the average of 97.7 mm, making it the 10th-driest June on record for the western Manitoba city.

The only city in Manitoba that had above normal precipitation was Churchill. It received 111 mm of precipitation in June, while the average is 45 mm.

Many gardeners in Winnipeg lament the loss of plants that dried out, and must adapt to the torrid weather to protect their gardens.

Tending to her home garden on Langside Street in the sweltering heat — Thursday’s high in Winnipeg reached 32C — Dian Warwick drenches her peas, potatoes, carrots and tomatoes in water.

“It’s like a never-ending battle,” she remarks. “I’m out here watering every day, twice a day sometimes.”

Warwick has been gardening for the better part of 40 years. She usually has her finger on the pulse of seasonal forecasts and acts accordingly, but this year’s drought meant the loss of some cucumber and eggplant seeds in early June.

Speculation by meteorologists that summers will continue to be hot and dry has Warwick already thinking about what she’ll plant next spring, based on what survives this year.

“With such little rain, it will probably have to be easy stuff,” she said. “Lots of lettuce for salads and radishes.”

Ken Land, general manager of St. Mary’s Nursery and Garden Centre, said customers are in search of sprinklers, drought-tolerant plants and clover seed for their lawns because it needs less water.

Experienced gardeners know these weather patterns and prepare for it, but new gardeners tend to rely on rain to take care of their plants and there hasn’t been nearly enough of it, Land said.

“The biggest issue is when you’re getting these small, scattered pockets of rain and people think they’re getting enough rain, but they’re not,” he said.

Flower planters and items in pots tend to dry up the fastest and Land expects customers will need to replace them in the next few weeks.

Proctor said scattered showers were expected Thursday night.

“It’s not a widespread area of thunderstorm activity. It’s gonna be swaths of moisture coming across, so if you’re under one of them, it’s gonna be beneficial, but if you’re not, it’s not gonna be particularly helpful,” he said.

The seasonal forecast for Manitoba is “a bit all over the place,” Proctor said, with temperatures expected to be warmer than normal and hit-or-miss precipitation.

“It’s not… a really good news story across much of southern Manitoba in the short-term,” he said.

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca