Hot and increasingly dry conditions will continue to be the weather story for Winnipeg and the Red River Valley.

It’s only going to get drier across the Red River Valley this week as intense summer heat bakes the region. Winnipeg will see highs hovering around 30 or 31 °C through the first half of the week with lows in the upper teens.

Winds will be breezy out of the south today with southerly winds of 30–40 km/h picking up this morning. A trough will push across the region today, and while it supported widespread thunderstorms overnight, it will be less active as it moves into the Red River Valley. Winnipeg will see a chance of showers or thunderstorms beginning around lunch and persisting until early evening. If any thunderstorms are able to develop, they will have a small chance of producing severe hazards with primary threats of damaging wind and/or hail.

Behind this trough, winds will shift to the northwest and then ease overnight. The northwesterly flow will usher in smokier conditions to the region once again. This time, the smoke will be coming from fires burning over northern Saskatchewan.

Tuesday and Wednesday will each bring light north-northeast winds and only a few clouds. The smoke, however, will likely stick around. While near-surface conditions will improve a bit, quite a bit of smoke will likely linger aloft over the region, casting that familiar slight orange hue under hazy skies.

Long Range Outlook

Another surge of hot air will move into the region for the second half of the week. Daytime highs will climb towards the mid-30s by the end of the week with overnight lows near 20 °C. While a couple shortwaves may meander over the region, an amplifying upper ridge should also keep the clouds at bay.

The forecasts show no notable precipitation for the Winnipeg area in the second half of the week or the weekend.

Today’s seasonal daytime high in Winnipeg is 26 °C while the seasonal overnight low is 13 °C.

Temperatures will soar in Winnipeg through the second half of the week as a potent upper ridge builds across the Prairies.

The heat will be remarkable for early June as temperatures climb through the 30s over the next few days. The heat will likely challenge records for the Winnipeg area, particularly on Thursday and Friday. Thursday’s high of 33 °C will challenge the existing record of 32.8 °C set in 1968. Friday’s intense push of heat will send highs into the upper 30s and likely break the existing record high of 35.6 °C set in 1988. The overnight lows may even challenge record warm minimum temperatures which sit at 18.3 °C for both June 4th and 5th, set in 1976.

Environment and Climate Change Canada has issued a heat warning for much of southern Manitoba. Tips to beat the heat can be found on the City of Winnipeg’s emergency preparedness page.

The city will see plenty of sun throughout the next few days. The most notable non-heat element of the weather will occur overnight into early Thursday morning. A strong upper-level jet will generate some showers and/or thunderstorms over the northern Prairies on Wednesday afternoon. This cluster of instability will move southwards into southern Manitoba through the evening and overnight hours. Winnipeg will see a chance of showers or thunderstorms overnight with the highest chance after midnight. These storms won’t have any organized risk of severe weather, but dry low-levels mean that some moderate to strong wind gusts will be possible with them as they move through.

Some lingering cloud from these systems will stick around on Thursday morning, then skies should clear for the afternoon.

Long Range Outlook

The heat will continue with daytime highs in the 30s on Saturday, then highs will ease back into the upper 20s Sunday into next week. Conditions will also turn more unstable this weekend, with an increasing chance of showers or thunderstorms beginning Sunday night and persisting into next week. The above-seasonal warmth will persist right through next week with highs in the mid- to upper-20s and lows of 15–20 °C.

Today’s seasonal daytime high in Winnipeg is 22 °C while the seasonal overnight low is 9 °C.