Sask. spring storm to bring high winds, rainfall Thursday

The spring storm set to hit southern Saskatchewan is “just getting itself wound up,” in the words of Terri Lang, meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada.

There’s development of the storm happening at present in Alberta, according to Lang, explaining the southeasterly winds coming towards the southern part of Saskatchewan and the province’s warm temperatures.

An orange weather warning for wind has been put in place by Environment Canada, covering the southern part of the province, including Regina. Saskatoon and northern Saskatchewan are not presently under any weather statements.

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Lang said the storm will continue developing overnight, with rain starting to move into the western parts of Saskatchewan overnight, with the potential for some thunder showers, especially in southern areas near the U.S. border. Regina could also possibly see a thunderstorm on Wednesday night, according to Lang.

The weight of the storm will hit the province on Thursday, the meteorologist continued. “Really, really strong winds” will develop across much of the southern part of Saskatchewan and wind gusts “in excess of 90 kilometres per hour, with some winds – particularly over the southwest – in excess of 100 kilometres per hour.”

Rain is expected to accompany those winds, falling mostly over the southwest and towards west central Saskatchewan.

Some snow is expected further north

“Each subsequent model run wants to kind of push the snow a little bit farther south, but so we may see some flakes even through the northern Grain Belt,” Lang explained. “We know that Lakeland areas will probably see snow.”

Lang listed Prince Albert, Meadow Lake and Hudson Bay as areas likely to see some snow, but said that weather will likely be more concentrated in the but it’s most of the snow will be concentrated more sort of towards pine house, towards areas like Pinehouse, Wollaston Lake and Reindeer Lake.

“But people, especially if they’re going up to their cottages in the Lakeland area, shouldn’t be surprised if they see snow coming down,” Lang warned.

Snow could be on the horizon for the Saskatoon area, as well. Snow mixed with rain is possible around Saturday morning, but the Saskatoon area is expecting to see more rain – between 20 and 25 millilitres or an inch to an inch-and-a-half – according to Lang, in addition to the strong winds expected.

“It’s not going to be the most pleasant of days,” Lang forecasted. “I don’t want people to be alarmed about that the temperature will be close to freezing, and the roads should be warm enough so it shouldn’t accumulate, but people shouldn’t be shocked if they do see that.”

Saskatoon will see the storm kick off likely Thursday afternoon, with winds starting to pick up throughout the morning before eventually dying down around Friday morning. In Regina, strong winds likely won’t begin until later Thursday afternoon alongside rainfall, with the wind lingering longer on Friday.

“We’ve kind of got everything thrown in with this particular system.”

There still being cold air in the north is what distinguishes this system from a typical summer storm, she explained, saying that if this storm were to happen in June, winds would still likely be present – potentially culminating in tornado activity – with heavier rains up north instead of snow and likely severe thunderstorms.

“I know all the storm chasers are chomping at the bit,” Lang joked. “The one thing that we’re missing is moisture through the whole the whole atmosphere, and we usually count on that coming up from the States and also from the crops that are growing.

“Our crops aren’t growing yet, so we don’t have that source of moisture.”

Lang said the high wind speeds could cause power outages and might make towing certain vehicles difficult on highways. She recommended securing things around the home, like garbage cans, recycling bins and lawn furniture, in preparation for the storm. Small tree branches could also break off, and the dryness of the season so far might make for lots of dust swirling in the air.

“With these really, really strong winds, and we haven’t greened up yet, we could see some reduced areas, like with blowing dust even tomorrow, just because the winds are going to be so strong,” Lang explained.