Monday, 2 January 2012

Top 10 Weather Events of 2011 - #8

#8 Torrid Tuesday
Las Vegas type heat! A dry heat.
      All the conditions were right for August 23 to be one of the hottest days in years as a southwest flow tapped in very hot and dry air into our region. Local impacts such as a down slope effect off the escarpment, as well as very dry soil conditions both contributed to the extreme heat as well. Being in a drought, it’s these kinds of setups that give the RRV its hottest temperatures (high thirties, low forties).
     The day started hot and muggy, with lows generally in the high teens or low twenties. Winnipeg only dropped to 19 C, while McCreary dropped to 23 C. By noon, it had already risen to 32 C in the city. Dewpoints dropped to near 10 C by afternoon, allowing temperatures to rise into the mid to high thirties across the RRV. Records were broken in many areas. The following is a list of highs recorded that afternoon. Official record highs are in bold.
Location
Aug 23 high
Old record
Records began
Selkirk
38.0

Winnipeg A
37.2
36.7 (1952)
1873
Gretna
36.5
31.1 (1972)
1952
Pinawa
35.4
31.1 (1969)
1964
Fisher Branch
34.6
31.0 (1990)
1977

     You can be sure many people were flocking to the nearest beach or pool to cool off. It was the hottest day in 16 years in Winnipeg; hottest since June 17, 1995 when we hit 37.8 C. It is tough to get temperatures this hot in Manitoba; all the conditions have to be just right.
     The hot and dry weather caused soil to shrivel around homes. People were encouraged to water the walls around the foundation to avoid cracks in the foundation.

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