Little rain despite thunderstorms: Environment Canada

Environment Canada says thunderstorms in Saskatchewan did not make much of a splash on Saturday.

Severe thunderstorm watches were issued for the southwest part of the province, potentially with heavy rain and loonie-sized hail.

Things didn’t happen that way.

“The thunderstorms were relatively weak. Some pea-sized hail that was tied with it. For the most part, the duration of the thunderstorms was relatively brief so, as a result, the precipitation amounts were low,” said meteorologist Mike Russo.

Russo said only about five to 10 millimetres of rain fell, at most — not enough to benefit farmers, nor reduce the wildfire risk in the province.

The Saskatoon area saw some showers Friday night and Saturday morning but Russo said that resulted in a few millimetres at best.

“I think we needed significantly more rain than what we’ve had over the last 12 hours,” he said.

However, the forecast is not calling for much more rain.

“If you’re looking for wet conditions, it’s not looking optimistic right now. The seven-day forecast is again showing relatively dry conditions persisting throughout much of the upcoming week,” Russo explained.