‘A pretty good shot of rain:’ Rainfall warning issued for Regina, southeast Sask.

It’s going to be a rainy few days in southern Saskatchewan.

Environment Canada has issued a rainfall warning for a number of areas in the province, including around Regina, Estevan, Weyburn, Lumsden, Fort Qu’Appelle, Humboldt, Moosomin, Melville and Yorkton.

Rainfall warnings are issued when 50 millimetres of rain are expected over a 24-hour period.

“(We’re) looking at a pretty good shot of rain (Thursday night), about 20 to 30 millimetres, and then another 15 to 25 on Friday during the day,” said Chris Stammers, a senior meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada.

“Even into Saturday, it’s going to remain kind of showery through the area.”

As well, special weather statements are in place for areas around Moose Jaw, Assiniboia, Gravelbourg, Carlyle, Oxbow and Stoughton. Those areas also are expected to see rain in the coming days.

Stammers said a Colorado low is developing in the United States and it will blow into southeastern Saskatchewan late Thursday afternoon before picking up in intensity overnight.

The heaviest rain is expected to fall Thursday night and into Friday morning, with 30 to 60 mm of rain forecast to fall.

“A thunderstorm can drop 50 millimetres in half an hour or an hour and that’s a little bit harder to deal with,” Stammers said when discussing the risk of flooding. “But when we’re talking about 50 millimetres over 24 hours, it’s a nice, steady soaking of rain.”

The storm also could produce winds gusting as high as 80 kilometres per hour on Thursday night.

The storm is just the latest in a long line of weather events to hit the southeast, which dealt with severe winter storms in the latter part of April.

“This train of Colorado lows can stop anytime,” Stammers said. “I think most people in that part of the province have had enough. We just need some drying for the future.”