‘Hit and miss’ thunderstorms to roll into Regina: Environment Canada

While the heat in Regina climbs to a high of 28 C on Thursday afternoon, Environment Canada says it will probably result in severe thunderstorms and showers later on Thursday night.

“The atmosphere is getting itself worked up a bit, and we’re expecting some showers, thundershowers and probably some severe weather activity to go along with all of that,” meteorologist Terri Lang said.

Just after 12:30 p.m., in fact, Environment Canada issued severe thunderstorm watches for areas around Biggar, Cabri, Cypress Hills, Gull Lake, Herbert, Kindersley, Kyle, Leader, Lucky Lake, Macklin, Maple Creek, Rosetown, Shaunavon, Swift Current, Val Marie and Wilkie.

Around 7:30 p.m., severe thunderstorm warnings were issued for the Kindersley-Rosetown area and the Battlefords-Unity region.

Lang couldn’t give an estimate of rainfall amounts, suggesting the thunderstorms would be “hit and miss” throughout southern sections of Saskatchewan.

“This is convection, and it can be anything from zero to 50 millimetres (or two inches) over the course of an hour or two. So it’s very hard to forecast,” Lang said.

She explained that the chances for thunderstorms will first be building in western Saskatchewan throughout Thursday afternoon, and then move east into evening.

By that time, around 6:30 to 7 p.m., the Queen City will only see some light rain, if any, she said. The thunderstorms will start later into the night and early Friday morning.

In referencing convection, Lang said the spotty nature of the storms is similar to a pot of boiling water.

“It’s the same thing that happens in the atmosphere,” she said. “When it bubbles up like that, that’s when we get the showers and thundershowers. But when you’re sitting there watching that pot, you don’t know where that next shower or thundershower is going to bubble up.”

Land said she expects a similar weather pattern for Friday across the province. After that, a high-pressure system should cool off temperatures for the weekend.

The weather agency is predicting a high of 27 C for Friday, along with a 60-per-cent chance of showers.

It’s predicting a high of 19 C on Saturday, with a 30-per-cent chance of showers.