A series of low pressure systems brought precipitation to the Red River Valley and Southeastern Manitoba Thursday and Friday, and in some cases the totals were substantial.

“Going back to Thursday morning, a relatively intense area of rainfall developed over the Altona and Gretna region, and moved eastward through Emerson, Dominion City and beyond,” explained CMOS Accredited Weathercaster Chris Sumner. “That initial round brought anywhere between 10 to 25mm to those regions, and we’ve been adding on ever since. On Friday morning, multiple rounds of shower activity lifted northward out of North Dakota, increasing the overall storm total each time, with additional areas of precipitation moving into the region throughout the day.”

Sumner noted, totals dropped off as you moved westward and northward.

The below are rainfall totals for September 15th and 16th courtesy PembinaValleyOnline Rainwatchers, Environment Canada and the Manitoba Ag Weather Network.

Dominion City – 95.7mm (just over 3.8 inches)

Rosa – 92.6mm (3.7 inches)

Gardenton – 73.7mm

Altona (rural) – 72.6mm (2.9 inches)

St. Adolphe – 66.1mm (just over 2.6 inches)

Emerson – 65.7mm (about 2.6 inches)

Altona (in town) - 62mm (about 2.4 inches)

Steinbach – 46.5mm (almost 1.9 inches)

Morris – 39.9mm

St. Pierre – 39.8mm

Winkler (south of city) – 37.3mm

Plum Coulee - 36mm (1.45 inches)

Winnipeg (airport) – 33.7mm

Cartwright – 25.2mm

Morden – 23.1mm (about 9/10ths)

Clearwater – 21.1mm

Kane – 20.7mm (about 8/10ths)

Carman – 19.4mm

Elm Creek – 16.3mm

Pilot Mound – 15.2mm (6/10ths)

Manitou – 10mm (4/10ths)

25mm = 1 inch

And with harvest across the province barely a third completed, according to the latest report from Manitoba Agriculture, a period of sunny, warm and dry weather will be needed to get many back on the field. Sumner noted, that may not be in the cards until later next week.

"We'll see a cloudy and slightly below average day Saturday, before we get back to sunnier and warmer conditions Sunday," he said. "High pressure building from the U.S. will allow a warmer airmass to arrive, but only for a day or two. We're also looking at the possibility of more shower activity Monday for much of Southern Manitoba."

Average daytime highs for this point in September are 19 degrees and 6 overnight. Saturday's highs should land around 15 to 17, with Sunday looking likely to reach 22 to 24.

"A low pressure system moving across the northern U.S. and southern Prairies could bring the next round of rainfall Monday, with showers developing in the afternoon and continuing into the evening," Sumner added. "Temperatures should remain seasonal Monday and Tuesday, with cloud cover lingering Tuesday, before an area of high pressure moves over the Prairies and clears things out for a few days. Right now, it's looking like that period of sunny, warm and dry will kick in Wednesday with the forecast models suggesting it will last through Friday."

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