Snowy weather hits southwest

Parts of southwestern Saskatchewan awoke to snowy conditions this morning.

Lac Pelletier, Wymark, and Duncairn were a few of the areas that received snowfall in the overnight period, not an uncommon site for early May.

"We can get snow well past even the May long weekend in Saskatchewan," Environment and Climate Change Canada Meteorologist Terri Lang said. "I don't think it's very welcome, especially after we saw temperatures in the high 20s last week and we had such a delayed spring." 

East of Wymark (photo courtesy of Krista Erickson)

While other regions of the southwest have settled for sizeable rainfall totals since Saturday. As of this morning, Swift Current has collected 23.5 millimetres of precipitation since the start of the weekend, which accounts for nearly half of its monthly average in May (48.5mm). Yesterday contributed 10.6 millmetres and today has already produced 8.2 millimetres.    

"Everyone in that southwest area is hoping for moisture," she said. 

The weather system that brought varying amounts of precipitation over the last 36-hours to the prairies mainly struck southern Manitoba and southeastern Saskatchewan.

"We had kind of a filament of precipitation that stretched back westward and I guess there was enough support in the upper atmosphere that allowed it to persist," she explained. "The winds would have been in the upslope direction, meaning that any winds that flow up to higher elevations aid in keeping precipitation around because the air is forced to go up and cool." 

Rainy conditions are expected to make a return to southwestern Saskatchewan on Thursday and Friday thanks to a Colorado low that's shifted its trajectory. 

"Initially it looked like it was just going to be a Manitoba event," she said. "Each of the subsequent model runs keep backing it up more to the west and giving the heavy precipitation to the western sections which would probably be a real bonus."  

Lac Pelletier area (photo courtesy of Laurie English)