Southern Manitoba welcomes late May snowstorms

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This article was published 24/05/2024 (738 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Snow battered parts of southern Manitoba Friday afternoon, while Winnipeg was drenched with rain.

Precipitation moving through southern Manitoba resulted in rain, but some cooler air created wet snow in Killarney, up north toward Riding Mountain, and in Brandon and Dauphin.

Snow in May is — unfortunately — not too uncommon in Manitoba, but snow this late in the month is unusual.

In Brandon, two centimetres of snow was reported Friday. The last comparable snowfall in May was in 2020, but it has been about 30 years since this much snow has hit the ground in Brandon this late in May, said Environment and Climate Change Canada meteorologist Justin Shelley.

“We see measurable snowfall in Winnipeg, for instance, every other year, on average, and the average for the month of May is just about 2.5 centimeters,” he said.

“We’re getting sort of to the back end of May, where it’s a bit more uncommon, but generally speaking, seeing May (snow) in Manitoba isn’t too far off the norm.”

Rain was prevalent in Winnipeg Friday as an Environment Canada rainfall warning was in effect until Saturday afternoon. As much as 60 millimetres of rain was expected from Thursday to Saturday.

Luckily, snow is not in the forecast past Friday. Precipitation will likely start to weaken Friday evening and overnight, and temperatures should warm up by Sunday.

By the middle to end of next week, an upper ridge could bring in warmer air, which could result in daytime highs reaching mid to high-20 C temperatures.

Depending on how much rain hits the Red River, a section of the movable dam at the St. Andrews Lock and Dam in Lockport may be removed to help control water levels, Public Services and Procurement Canada said Friday.

“Waters downstream and in proximity to the dam should always be treated as dangerous but can become even more so as water levels increase,” a news release said Friday. “Owners of vessels, barges and all property on the Red River and its tributaries are advised to protect their property.”

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca