A high pressure system moving west will push the cooler weather out and bring in steamy temperatures by the end of the week
By Kate Ayers
Staff Writer
Farms.com
Following a wet and cool Canada Day long weekend, temperatures could feel up to 20 degrees warmer in some areas of Western Canada by the end of this week.
In parts of the Alberta Foothills, rainfall warnings are in effect. Places from Grand Cache to Nordegg could see from 50 to 80 millimetres of rain by Wednesday morning, a Weather Network article said yesterday.
These showers will keep central Alberta temperatures in the single digits until mid-week.
In Manitoba, a cold front on Sunday brought quarter-sized hail, strong winds and heavy rain, knocking out power to thousands of people.
However, these storms were patchy and brought along crop-saving moisture.
“Our growers have been calling it the million-dollar rain,” Liz Simpson, a DEKALB agronomist in Brandon, Man., said to Farms.com.
“It was perfect timing for the canola to get some moisture. Everything was on the brink of being really stressed out. For us, (the rain) was huge to get some moisture in.”
In central Saskatchewan, spotty showers will continue until tonight. A thunderstorm risk is developing for this area as well, the article said.
Both Saskatchewan and Manitoba should expect heavy rain and strong storms in some areas throughout the day and evening tomorrow.
The low pressure causing this rain will move out of the Prairies by the end of the week, allowing some high pressure to return to the western Prairies, the article said.
A significant rise in temperature is expected for Western Canada later this week and next week. Temperatures in southern Alberta could jump from highs in the low teens to highs in the thirties within a few days.
The impending heat “will be great for corn,” Simpson said.
But “if it does get really hot, it is a big concern for our canola crop because everything is just getting into flower so that (heat) could negatively affect yield.”
Indeed, in the eastern Prairies, dangerous humidex values are possible later this week which may cause temperatures to feel more like 40 degrees by the weekend, the article said.
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