Another Rainy Past Couple Of Days For Many, Though Some Improving Weather For the Weekend Ahead

A fairly strong low pressure system over Northern Minnesota brought a soaking rain over Southern Manitoba Wednesday into today , with amounts of 15 to 40mm recorded over the past 36 hours. Amounts were the heaviest over the Western Red River Valley with amounts of 24mm to 37mm recorded from Woodlands west to Portage north to St.Rose Du Lac and southeast through Morden and Winkler including regions of Manitou and Pilot Mound. Lesser amounts fell in western Manitoba with only 15 to 20mm of rain, and 15mm in Winnipeg.

A look at precipitation amounts for Manitoba from the day today (October 18, 2012)
Data from Manitoba Conservation

The rain we experienced brought us some much needed moisture to southern Manitoba, after such a dry September where Winnipeg only experienced 4mm all month. Rainfall data for CYWG (Winnipeg) from Rob's Blog quotes that "Rainfall this month is now up to 36 mm at the airport as of this morning, and 50 mm at the Forks". This month is now the first month since May where we recieved above normal precipitation, October average is 36mm for Winnipeg. More showers or drizzle will be affecting southern Manitoba throughout the night tonight, along with northerly winds gusting at times to about 80 km/h. Showers or drizzle should end by tomorrow morning as moisture transport starts moving out of the area, however cloudcover will continue to stick around for the day Friday. There could be a few places in Western Manitoba that could see the sun peaking out, as cloudcover may not be as extensive there as in the Red River Valley.

Nicer weather conditions will return for the weekend as things become drier, however long range forecast models and discussions from various sources are hinting at a potential for a potent storm system moving across North Dakota and affecting Southern Manitoba, by Wednesday into the end of the week next week. Rain or Thunderstorms could be possible with the start of the system, however rain and snow would likely become a factor as it moves East. Thunderstorms would only be possible if we get into the warm sector of the system, it would be unlikely if it bypasses the region leaving us with rain and snow.  Overall expect a wet and unsettled second half of the week next week. Make sure you stay tuned to updates on the upcoming storm system, to find out how it evolves over the time period.

Update: The Weather for part of the weekend is not looking like it will be as nice as first thought, the night Saturday through Sunday is looking unsettled as an area of low pressure moves through the region from Saskatchewan. Though Saturday is looking very warm and dry with temperatures in the teens. The area of low pressure for the night Saturday and for the day Sunday will likely produce an area of showers and or rain for most in Southern Manitoba, accumulations will likely be in the low range and likely be from 5mm in Virden to 6mm in Whitemouth. However there could be a larger variation in amounts due to different weather in different regions, likely from the 5 to 10mm range. This system will be less powerful compared to next week's system which could bring us the first significant precipitation in quite a while. Thing's should clear up for the start of the week before thing's change drastically for the second half of the week. Stay Tuned for more information on Saturday Night's and Sunday's system.