(Mat Barrett/northeastNOW Staff)
Rain, Rain Don't Go Away

Plenty of rain finally falls through northeast region

Jun 17, 2019 | 1:04 PM

Rain came down in buckets over the weekend as the northeast region took the brunt of storms that travelled through Saskatchewan.

According to Terri Lang with Environment Canada, there was a corridor between Saskatoon and Regina that received very little rain at all. Meanwhile, the area of Melfort received about 30 mm of rainfall over the few days, Nipawin was around 31mm, and Wynyard was at about 33 mm. The biggest dump of rain came a bit further south in the Humboldt area where they received 65 mm of rain. Lang said it was a welcome sight for most people in the region.

“In terms of records, not record setting by any stretch of the imagination,” Lang told northeastNOW. “But it just seems like it just because there hasn’t been any precipitation for such a long time.”

She said there was some concern for localized flooding over the weekend.

“Just because the ground has been so dry too, it tends to become sort of hydrophobic,” Lang said. “Meaning it doesn’t absorb it as quickly as it normally would just because it is so dry and crusted over.”

Lang said they haven’t received any reports of flooding, even with the large amount in such a short time.

Normally for this time of year, Lang said for Melfort, about 54.3 mm of rain is typical. As of right now, the area has received 42.4 mm of rain in the month, which Lang said puts the area well on its way to an average month for rainfall.

That number could also get closer as another system is coming to the area for the upcoming weekend. Lang said it is a low pressure system coming in from Alberta, bringing cold temperatures and possibly some snow in the foothills, but Lang said Saskatchewan won’t see any snow. She added it’s still hard to tell how much rain could come.

“Through Saskatchewan, showers, thundershowers during the day which tends to spread out into an area of rain at night,” Lang said. “So, we’ll just have to see exactly where those areas are going to be.”

Lang said there isn’t much people can do with this weather coming, except stay updated for extreme weather, and prepare your property for the weather that could be coming.

The week of June 23 to 29 is Lightning Safety Week and she is reminding people “when the thunder roars, go indoors.”

mat.barrett@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @matbarrett6

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