The summer of 2011 will go down as the 5th driest summer on record in Winnipeg since records began in 1873. The 93.0 mm of rain recorded at YWG airport from June through August was over 140 mm below the 3 month summer average of 235 mm, about 40% of normal. The summer was the driest since 2006 when 91.5 mm was recorded. The dry weather took hold by the last week of June, which carried through the driest July on record (10.0 mm) into a drier than normal August (37.5 mm) Between June 23rd and August 18th, there were no daily rainfalls greater than 5 mm at YWG airport as convective storms evaded the city, much to the delight of sun worshippers, but to the dismay of farmers who saw crops wither in the hot and dry weather. The dry weather however was not widespread over southern Manitoba. Southwest MB and the southern RRV experienced more normal amounts of rain during the summer, with the driest conditions mainly over the northern RRV and eastern MB.
Top 5 driest summers - Winnipeg (since 1873)
1. 1929 ........ 76.7 mm
2. 1886 ........ 77.2 mm
3. 1961 ........ 91.0 mm
4. 2006 ...... 91.5 mm
5. 2011 ....... 93.0 mm
Temperature wise, the summer of 2011 had a 3 month average of 19.5C.. about 1C above average (18.5C) and the warmest summer since 2006 (19.8c) The 19.5C summer average tied it for Winnipeg's 17th all time warmest summer. The bulk of the heat was during July and August which were 1.7C and 1.8C above normal respectively. The summer saw 19 days of 30C or more, including 8 in July and 9 in August. Cool spells were minor and fleeting, and were quickly replaced by sunny warmer weather. The hottest temperature was a record setting 37.2C on August 23rd, while the coolest was a 3.8C reading on June 9th.
Top 5 hottest summers in Winnipeg (since 1873)
1. 1988 ............ 21.0C
2. 1983 ............ 20.8C
3. 1961 ............ 20.4C
4. 1955 ............ 20.2C
5. 1963/1930 ....... 20.1C
Quite the wind event just south of the border early yesterday.. gusts of 90 to 120 mph recorded in NE ND and NW Minnesota with that bow echo that went through the other night. Click on my name for NWS GFK's storm write up.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link. I assume that is the most extreme wind speed that is possible in a straight line wind event???
ReplyDeleteYesterday afternoon's forecast for Friday night simply said "Clearing" (for Winnipeg). Well that seemed pretty odd giving the system headed our way. Now it's back to increasing cloud and possible showers/thundershowers.
ReplyDeleteWhat the heck is going on at the PSPC this summer? Normally I do everything to defend our forecasters as they don't have an easy job, but this year I'm beginning to wonder.
daniel..
ReplyDeleteYeah, 120 mph (200 km/h) is getting pretty extreme for a straight line wind. I've heard of extreme cases up to 150 mph but generally, the strongest straight line wind gusts are in the 60-80 mph range.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHey guys,
ReplyDeleteWhats your thoughts on the rain for tonight and tmr? Any chance of it missing?
Playing in a ball tournament in St. Annes MB on weekend and really don't want to get wet.
Came across an interesting Cdn Weather "EC" data site while reviewing wind records. Insert your city where "brandon" is and voila (Cdn Weather word I think) you have instant curent and histoerical Graphic Data
ReplyDeletehttp://brandon.weatherstats.ca/
Insert your interest such as "/metrics/wind_speed.html" or "snow_on_ground.html"
Brandon Wind Speed
or " /metrics/snow_on_ground.html"
Brandon Snow on Ground
Rob interesting stats especially when every winter for the year following a dryest or Warmest summer is a La Nina Winter
ReplyDeleteWarm/Dry ..La Nina
Summer ..Winter
....55 ....56-57
....61 ....62-63
....63 ....64-65
....83 ....84-85
....88 ....88-89? ENSO Neutral
....06 ....07-08
Will the the winter of 2012 -13 will be a La Nina?
I don't know about the winter of 2012-13, but la Nina is forecast to return for this upcoming winter 2011-12.
ReplyDeleteRe: rain chances for Winnipeg tonight and Saturday. I think we're going to see some showers moving in after midnight.. maybe 5 mm or so by morning before they pull off to the east. Then we should stay cloudy with a chance of wrap around rain or drizzle Saturday along with brisk northerly winds and cool temperatures.. Not the best day for baseball, but you may be able to squeeze a game or two in. Sunday looking much better with ridge building in and sunshine.
35C in Windsor today with a humidex of 45C. However, that was not a record. They recorded a dewpoint of 25C... not bad for September.
ReplyDeleteHere in Montreal we had a low of 20C so I had to put the A/C on.
Once the cold front arrive, we're in for some serious t-storms.
Rob!
ReplyDeleteI think your right about those storms hitting us around midnight!!
I could see Winnipeg getting another quick 10 mm of rain :-)
That line is moving in quick.. likely pushing into west Winnipeg by 11 pm or so.. possibly still accompanied by some lightning. Hopefully Goldeyes don't go into extra innings tonight! Initial band should be through by midnight or 1 am.. then scattered showers after that.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, my station is recording wind data again. I hooked it up this evening, with a better exposure on the roof. Still not airport quality readings, but better than before. Hopefully I can record some good gusts tonight and tomorrow!
Rob Are there limitations near the Assinniboine Forest for a wind tower?
ReplyDeleteIs it not amusing that we have to wait till the very end of the summer season to get back to back thunderstorms at night!!! LOL
ReplyDeleteWHOA!!
ReplyDeleteBig time wind and rain in St James!!!
Rob, what is going on here????
ReplyDeleteOnly a few days into September and you already have near 30 mm of rain...could we be going from drought to flood???? :-0
Chalk up another 10mm of rain today!!!
ReplyDeleteCould it be that 50 mm of rain could fall at Robs place in a span of 3 days????
12.5 mm at the YWG airport last night.. 18.6 mm at the Forks. 1 cm hail also reported at the airport overnight with that secondary line of tstorms that kept popping up over west Winnipeg into the downtown core giving those areas higher amounts.. including the 21 mm at my place. I've almost matched my July-August rainfall total in the first 3 days of September!
ReplyDeleteArea of wrap around rain off to our northwest should spread into Winnipeg by late morning into this afternoon with a few more mm possible, although bulk of it should stay through the Interlake as low pulls off to our east.
Only 10 mm in South St. Vital :(
ReplyDeleteLooks like EC was right in their summer predictions of warm and dry. Now they're calling for a warmer and drier fall across most of Canada except for the coasts.
ReplyDeleteNext week looks like its warming up again.
Who filled my pool overnight...and how come all those boats at the Pony's Pier are tilted as if they were on the river bottom and what was that spraying sound that woke me a few minutes ago??.... River down and the pool up.??.We must have had our own personal rain shower from here downriver.. A couple of inches 5cm if you trust the markings for depth on my crude poolside rainfall gage. And now that I can focus those boats aren't tilted. Must have been my first of the morning eyesight.
ReplyDeletelast nights storms caused quite a ruckus here in St.james. 3 in a row thats a first for the city in well I'd say seems like years.The Focn 45 bulletin mentioned reports of quarter size hail and 60 km/h winds from last night. Along with it we must have picked up well over 15mm. How much did you pick up rob?
ReplyDeleteFrost warnings issued for Western Manitoba tonight!!! That was a surprise!!
ReplyDeleteAnother night above 20C expected for Southern Ontario/Southern Quebec.
ReplyDeleteIt's very nice outside. =)
Some places never went below 24C (and that's without the humidity)
Not every day you see frost and above 40C humidexes in the same country.
Welcome to Canada in September! You can have mid-summer heat and severe tstorms in southern Ontario and Quebec, hurricanes in the Maritimes, frost in the Prairies, and snow in the Mountains.. all on the same day! We're a big country all right.. :)
ReplyDeleteMike..
ReplyDeleteMy station picked up 21 mm in last night's storms (about 9 mm with the first band around midnight then another 12 mm with storms that kept regenerating over west end of Winnipeg overnight) I picked up another 3 mm in off and on showers today. Total of 24 mm. Looks like the Charleswood-Tuxedo-downtown core had the most rain with about 25 mm, while 10-15 mm fell over the north and south ends of the city.
Re: frost warning for western MB. Frost not expected to be widespread, and mainly confined to areas near the SK border in the traditionally colder spots like Roblin and Wasagaming.
ReplyDelete