Unusually strong August storm to bring 100 km/h winds to the Prairies
Hold on to your hats! An unusually strong August system will bring powerful winds to parts of Saskatchewan and Manitoba through Wednesday
An unusually strong long pressure system for August will track across parts of the Prairies on Wednesday, bringing a widespread rain, thunderstorms and powerful winds over exposed areas.
Wind gusts in some of the hardest hit places could reach as high as 90 km/h, with widespread windy conditions expected to persist through much of the day on Wednesday.
Tuesday through Wednesday
Areas: Northern Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba
Timing: Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday Night
Weather: A low pressure system is forecast to develop in northern Alberta on Tuesday afternoon and will track southeast into Saskatchewan and southern Manitoba. The low is expected to be especially powerful for summer standards, as it can drop down to a low of 981 millibars by the time it tracks into northwestern Ontario. That is unusually strong for August.
As the system develops through the Prairies, it will bring rain showers and thunderstorms, but the bigger threat will be a widespread wind. As the cold front moves through Saskatchewan Tuesday overnight and southern Manitoba on Wednesday morning, it'll bring with it gusty winds not only along the front, but in behind the system as well.
Winds will be quite strong on the Manitoba lakes with gusts upwards to 90 km/h over the exposed lakes and immediately on the southeast shores. Throughout southern Saskatchewan, wind gusts between 50-70 km/h are expected Tuesday overnight into Wednesday and 60-80 km/h across southern Manitoba.
These winds will persist throughout all of Wednesday before easing during the overnight hours as the low moves further east.
A cooler and more unsettled pattern is forecast for Alberta for the end of the week, weekend and much of next week, with the potential for some relief from the extremely dry conditions across southern sections of the province. The most significant rain however, is expected to fall north of where it is needed most.
Be sure to check back for the latest weather updates across the Prairies.