Severe thunderstorm warnings, watches issued for southeast Saskatchewan

Areas of southern Saskatchewan are getting a repeat of Thursday’s stormy weather.

At 4:45 p.m. Friday, Environment Canada issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Regina and surrounding areas. Other warnings issued earlier in the day for areas around Estevan, Weyburn, Indian Head, Edgeley, Vibank and Sedley remained in place.

One of the warnings suggested the region around Indian Head could get between 40 and 60 millimetres of rain over the next hour. Another warning for the area of Trossachs said that thunderstorm “has a history of producing a brief, weak tornado.”

The warnings were preceded by severe thunderstorm watches for the southeast corner of the province. Areas around Estevan, Weyburn, Moosomin, Carlyle, Carnduff, Milestone, Grenfell and Kipling were included in the watches.

“For the areas where we are expecting severe thunderstorms, the main concern is wind gusts, large hail and heavy rain,” meteorologist Natalie Hasell said. “I suppose it’s always possible that a severe thunderstorm gives us a tornado, but right now that’s not the main concern in the forecast.”

More information is available on the Environment Canada alerts page.

Regina was among the areas pounded during the storms that hit the province on Thursday afternoon and early Friday morning, with roads closing and basements flooding.

There were two tornado warnings issued Thursday for areas of south-central Saskatchewan, but Hasell said Environment Canada hasn’t been to confirm if twisters actually touched down.