Plough winds ‘very likely’ Sunday for some areas; severe thunderstorm watches for Regina, southwest

It will likely be a stormy Sunday in Saskatchewan.

Severe thunderstorm watches were called around 1 p.m. in the southwestern portions of Saskatchewan, along with the City of Regina.

An eye is being kept on two separate systems rolling through the prairies in the afternoon and evening hours, according to Environment Canada meteorologist Sarah Hoffman.

“(The first system will affect) the eastern portions of the province, (which) covers all the way up to Hudson Bay area, covering Yorkton down to Regina and that’s associated with a cold front that’s moved in from Alberta overnight,” she said.

The first threat could create potential wind gusts over 100 km/h, large hail and flooding rains. It will continue through the afternoon and into the evening hours.

The second system will also affect the south later this evening.

“This one, this time, taking Highway 1. That one will be more wind and hail-focused. That one will start early this evening for varied southwestern areas of the province … (and) continue to truck right along Highway 1, overnight and into the early morning hours,” Hoffman added, singling out areas such as Cypress Hills, Eastend and Siwft Current as potential areas of more concern.

But, these storms won’t produce tornadoes, according to Hoffman.

“In eastern Saskatchewan … those (storms) will be high-based,” she said. “A straight-line wind event or a severe wind gust is very likely. Even though a tornado isn’t possible, it doesn’t mean that the wind cannot be impactful. In fact, a straight-line wind event can have the same amount of damage and impact as an EF-2 tornado. To me, that’s very concerning.”

Straight-line wind events are the proper term for plough winds.

The second swath of storms will bring strong winds as well, and the possibility of large hail.

One positive aspect that some will take out of Sunday’s stormy weather is the moving out of the heat warnings from some areas of Saskatchewan.

The climate coming off the back of these storms will allow the warnings to end in the province, according to Hoffman.

The heat will still be above seasonal values but will end the heat warnings.

For the very latest in Saskatchewan’s severe weather alerts, click here.