The power and the fury

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/09/2020 (2006 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Sage was abundant, though a bit stockier, than previous years at medicine-picking spots throughout Winnipeg, says Gladys Marinko, a knowledge keeper with the North Point Douglas Women’s Centre.

A summer characterized by plenty of heat and little rain may have stunted the growth of sage and sweetgrass, said Marinko, a member of Brokenhead Ojibway Nation.

“I did notice this year that the medicines, the plants, they were not as tall as other seasons,” she said recently. “But the medicines have grown really well this year.”

Throughout June, July and August — the meteorological summer — Winnipeg logged 19 days where the thermometer crept over 30 C, making 2020 the 15th warmest summer on record (tied with 2018) since 1873.

Marinko led a number of Indigenous medicine-picking and land-based outings throughout the summer, and people were eager to get out of the house, she said, though extreme heat forced the cancellation of one and the coronavirus pandemic limited numbers.

“There’s been a lot of isolation in the community, and so we wanted to provide a way for people to get out of the house for our spiritual, physical and mental health,” Marinko said. “It was really good — a really nice summer.”

Retired meteorologist and hobby weather watcher Rob Paola said within city limits, Winnipeggers enjoyed a consistently warm summer with few storms.

“For Winnipeg, it was a great summer for enjoying outdoor activities — golfing, swimming, cycling — and for southern Manitoba as a whole, it was highlighted by some big weather events,” Paola said.

In June, Winnipeg had eight days above 30 C, a departure from the normal 2.5 days, Environment and Climate Change Canada meteorologist Natalie Hasell said. August had seven days of 30 C weather, where 4.7 is typical. The mercury eventually topped out at 33.5 C on Aug. 15.

“Taking the three months together, we had a greater number of days that reached 30 degrees or warmer, and this is true not only in Winnipeg but most of southern Manitoba,” Hasell said.

According to Manitoba Hydro, residential electricity use this summer was about five per cent higher than normal, due to the heat. Manitobans may have also set a new summer record for electricity demand July 3. The temperature that day reached 31.9 C and electricity use hit 3,341 megawatts. The previous summer peak was July 20, 2016, when total demand was 3,319.4 MW and the temperature reached 31.7 C.

The capital city was also buggier, as sustained winds carried mosquitoes into Winnipeg and overnight breezes delayed spraying for tree caterpillars and worms.

Rainfall was well below normal, based on data from one station in Winnipeg, Hasell said. In July, the city had 39.2 millimetres of rain, instead of the normal 79.5 mm. August similarly, had just 59.1 mm, instead of 77 mm.

Still, the riverwalk connecting the legislature to The Forks never officially opened, thanks to a chronically swollen Assiniboine River.

“City crews had, on three separate occasions, just completed restoration work to the walkway only to have it flood over within days, leaving sediment and debris on the walkway when the waters receded,” City of Winnipeg spokesman Ken Allen said.

Parts of southern Manitoba were clobbered by storms in June, resulting in overland flooding and local states of emergency, Hasell said. Communities in southeast Manitoba, were hit first June 6, with Gardenton receiving 131 mm of rain over 48 hours.

On June 28, a persistent storm system dumped a record 155.5 mm of rain on Brandon, the most since June 2, 1953, when 80 mm was recorded. About 40 kilometres northwest in Rivers, an historic 238.9 mm of rain fell, eventually filling the banks of the Assiniboine.

“A whole lot of places were affected by basically a stagnant line of thunderstorms that sat over the same areas, pounding the same places over and over again,” Hasell said.

Just outside of Minto, in southwest Manitoba, farmer Bill Campbell said his 1,400 acres of cropland struggled, receiving half the rain needed in an ideal growing season. According to the province, the central and Interlake regions had less than 90 per cent of normal accumulated rain.

“We had a couple of timely rains, but we only had one rain over one inch. So throughout our growing season we had about five inches of rain,” said Campbell, president of Keystone Agricultural Producers. “And then it turned hot in the tail end of July, and we were really quite concerned about whether there would be enough moisture to carry the crop through.”

Campbell said farmers affected by historic heavy rainfall have reported up to 20 per cent crop loss, while in other areas the heat has impacted oilseed and forage production.

“It was too warm, for the crops anyway. It was alright for the beach,” he said. “I’d suggest as farmers are getting into harvest, most are satisfied with what their crops are yielding.”

The summer of 2020 will go on record as one of the deadliest, having spawned an EF-3 tornado near Scarth on Aug. 7.

Carter Tilbury and Shayna Barnesky, of Melita, both 18, died when the twister tossed their truck. A 54-year-old man sheltering in his SUV suffered serious injuries when it was thrown by the tornado, which generated winds up to 260 km/h.

Manitoba had seven confirmed tornadoes and three events under investigation. Five tornadoes were defined as supercells, with most occurring in August.

“Unfortunately, southwestern Manitoba had a little bit more share of active weather and serious storm activity than we saw here in the Red River valley,” Paola said. “Tragically, Manitoba again saw a fatal tornado, and this one claimed two lives.”

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca