Stunning Weekend

     I took some time to bike around the south end of the city today and take pictures of this absolutely stunning weekend. This warmth and sunshine coincides perfectly with the change of colours of the trees this Fall. Here's some of my favourite pictures I have taken this weekend. A couple were taken by my mother as well. Enjoy!

St Vital Park

St Vital Park

Along Bishop Grandin

Near Osborne Street, along the Red River

Street between Osborne Street and the BRT line

Taken by my mother on Saturday

Taken by my mother on Saturday

Seine River on Saturday

     ***If you wish to share some of these photos, please include a link to my blog, thank you!

HOT Day Saturday

Seine River in south Winnipeg this afternoon. Water levels low

     Winnipeg hit 29.6°C Saturday, just shy of the old record of 30.0°C in 1905. The hot spot in Manitoba was Carman at 30.4°C.

     This type of weather makes it hard to believe that we hit 31.1°C on October 5 of last year!!

     The heat Saturday was also a very dry heat as relative humidity dropped to around 20%. The drought conditions are only continuing as no significant rainfall is expected in the near future.

     Many records were broken in other parts of Manitoba Saturday. Some records in northern Manitoba were broken by as much as 8°C:

                        New      old     record  records
Location               record   record    year    began
--------------------------------------------------------
Churchill cs           24.0     15.6      1962    1932
Fisher Branch          29.3     24.6      1995    1977
Gillam arpt            25.7     18.9      1948    1943
Gimli                  27.4     25.6      1948    1944
Gretna                 29.3     27.8      2007    1955
Island Lake arpt       25.0     19.0      2001    1971
Lynn Lake arpt         24.0     20.6      1962    1952
Norway House arpt      23.0     20.7      2007    1897
Pinawa                 27.7     26.5      2001    1964
Sprague                28.5     27.2      1943    1915
Swan River             28.9     26.7      1976    1908
The Pas                27.6     23.9      1948    1910
Thompson arpt          26.3     18.3      1967    1967

 Melita                 29.5     29.3      2007    1994 

Nice Weekend On The Way

     The trough that has stuck over Manitoba for a couple weeks is finally moving off, being replaced by a ridge. This will bring lots of sunshine and warm, summer-like temperatures over the next few days. Highs are expected to be in the low twenties Friday, and mid to high twenties this weekend. Sunday at this point looks like the hottest day with highs around 27 or 28°C possible, especially closer to the US Border.

     This is not all good news however. Dry conditions are expected to continue until next week, when some showers may be (?) possible. This will ensure that this September will end up as the second driest on record. Check here on my blog Sunday evening or Monday morning for the end of month numbers.

     Drought-conditions will continue to worsen as a result.. CPC south of the border has put NW Minnesota in an extreme drought rating, and those conditions are similar on our side of the border.

CPC shows extreme drought conditions along MB/Minnesota border

     Much cooler weather is expected to begin early next week. This next cold spell could be prolonged, therefore enjoy the warmth this weekend while it lasts!

Unusual September Cold Now Breaking Records

     It was a frigid start to the morning in southern Manitoba today as temperatures dipped well-below zero. Winnipeg's low of -7.1°C at the airport breaks the 133 year old record of -6.1°C in 1879. It was also the coldest September night in the city in 47 years (-7.2°C Sep 26, 1965), the 5th coldest September night on record since 1872, and the 2nd earliest of its kind for the season.

     The Forks dropped to the freezing mark for the first time this season (0.0°C to be specific), technically ending the growing season in the city. This is about 2 weeks earlier than normal, as the normal first 0°C or lower night at The Forks is October 5.

     It got down to -5.0°C at my place in the south end. Some other areas around the city got even colder than Winnipeg. Lows of -8.5°C in Emerson and Fisher Branch, and -9°C in Dugald were seen.

     It will be a much warmer night tonight as lows are expected to be in the mid to high single digits (above zero!).

     Perhaps an even bigger story however, is the dryness. Only 4 mm of rain has been recorded at the airport this month, and no significant rainfall is expected this week. There may be some rain next weekend, but it is too far out to confirm. If we do not see much rain before the end of September, this would end up as the second or third driest September on record. Will keep you all updated.