Topsy-turvy temps throw Manitoba curveball By: Malak Abas Posted: 6:17 PM CDT Monday, May. 12, 2025

James Katsabanis calls it the curse of the May long weekend.

When the owner of the Debonair Campground in St. Malo checked the forecast, he said he wasn’t surprised to learn the scorching temperatures in the early part of the week will give way to unseasonably cold temps on the weekend. Tuesday has a forecast high of 35 C, while Saturday’s high is expected to be 11C. The normal high is 19 C. Saturday’s low is 2 C, which will be chilly for campers.

“I wasn’t surprised at all… I always expect some cancellations right before May long,” he said with a laugh Monday.

Debonair, which offers casual and seasonal campsites in the rural municipality of De Salaberry, opened April 18 after a slow start to the season. While some of his clientele, many older people, left a little earlier than yesterday to beat the heat, he’s not too worried about the wild weather ahead.

He describes about 70 per cent of campers as “gung ho” enthusiasts who show up, rain or shine or anything, for that matter.

“They know what to expect,” he said. “They’ve been waiting all winter to get in here, so they’ll be here no matter what.”

Winnipeg remained under a heat warning as of Monday afternoon.

Manitoba is currently in the warm area of a southern low-pressure system that has pushed very hot air from the U.S. northward, bringing heat until Thursday. A cold front will sweep in Thursday night.

“It will feel kind of abrupt. We don’t normally have these temperatures at this time of year, so the shift from (hot) to very cool is not a typical occurrence,” said Natalie Hasell of Environment and Climate Change Canada.

“However, it is a situation that makes sense meteorologically, perhaps unfortunately, because the shift is abrupt and it’s going to be quite a quite a shock to the system.”

Showers are in the forecast Friday. If it continues to rain when the overnight low hits 1 C, there could be an unwelcome surprise.

“We’re in the right temperature range (where) it could easily be freezing rain for some places.”

For now, however, chilly temperatures may seem far away, as much of the weekend was spent breaking heat records across Manitoba.

Winnipeg set a record Monday, when the mercury rose to 35.6 C at 5 p.m., breaking the previous record of 32.8 C in 1958.

On Sunday, records were broken in Altona, Deerwood, Emerson, Melita, Pilot Mound, Portage la Prairie, Sprague and Steinbach.

The oldest records broken were in Pilot Mound and Melita, which hit 35.4 C and 33.7 C, respectively and both broke records from 1940. The most recent record broken was from 2024, when Emerson hit 30.9 C, but easily shattered that record by reaching 37.8 C Sunday.

While Environment and Climate Change Canada had yet to update its weather summary data, Weatherlogics president Scott Kehler shared on X (formerly Twitter) that as of 3 p.m. Monday, Winnipeg had hit a record high for the day, reaching 34.1 C, beating 32.8 C in 1958.

At the Beer Can outdoor pub, near the Granite Curling Club, Monday afternoon, the air was hot and the patrons were thirsty.

Sunscreen and water were at the ready for the flushed bartenders behind the counter, and on the other side, a line was set up near the benches so customers could be misted with water.

Regardless, customers quickly filed in to soak up the sun.

Assistant general manager Capri Ganaden had a few choice words for the weather.

“Brutal — but also, love it,” she said.

The patio will remain open whatever Mother Nature delivers this week; after all, it’s summer, Ganaden said.

“I guess people will need to come to our space in their winter jackets and maybe bring some blankets, and we can still sling some beers.”

For those who don’t like to sweat, Isekai Ramen on Cathedral Avenue is the spot.

The special for the blistering hot days of the week is a noodle dish called hiyashi chuka, which is served cold with chilled vegetables and chicken. Later in the week, restaurateur Yasuko Akimoto recommends the “volcano ramen,” a spicy, hot dish to counteract the cold weather.

“It’s this iconic dish in summer that people in Japan will eat, so I decided, maybe we should serve this, because the temperature is crazy high. But the same time I saw, later on, the temperature will drop like crazy,” she said. “I don’t think anyone wants food at the same temperature as the outside.”

Akimoto, who immigrated to Winnipeg from Japan in 2000, said she’d still take a dry Winnipeg summer day over the humidity in her home country.

“I would not go back to Japan during summertime,” she joked.

Air-conditioned leisure centres and libraries across Winnipeg were designated as “cooling areas” by the city Friday so people looking for a break from the heat can stop in.

Four city-owned water tanks were dropped off around the inner city (near the Mount Carmel Clinic at Stella Avenue, Siloam Mission on Princess Street, Agape Table on Furby Street and N’Dinawemak on the Disraeli Freeway) for residents to use.

Drinking fountains in parks and boulevards remain out of use. They are typically not turned on until late May after the risk of freezing temperatures drops, a city spokesperson said.

One senior who lives in a highrise said she was suffering because the air conditioning could not be turned on until later in the month.

The 75-year-old woman, who has asthma, said the temperature in her unit was almost 30 C Monday.

“Tonight, if it’s like this, I’ll be sleeping on my balcony,” she said. “I have a lounge chair, I’ll have to sleep out there, because I don’t think I could sleep in here.”

She said notices erected in the building said air conditioning would be turned on later in May.

“They’re saying that if they turn the air on too quickly, and then it cools off, then the compressor stops,” she said.

Not having air conditioning during a heat warning could be dangerous, particularly for vulnerable people, said Hasell.

“While everyone is affected by the heat, you have people who are more susceptible, these include older adults, infants and young children, people with chronic illnesses, people who are unable to keep their living space cool, so they have a home, but they can’t afford air conditioning, for instance, the internal temperature could become a problem,” she said.

People should be on the lookout for signs that someone is reacting negatively to the heat, she said.

“If they’re suffering any symptoms, get them the help they need,” she said. “Be the good neighbour.”

Environment and Climate Change Canada provides information on how to protect yourself from extreme heat online.

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca