Severe thunderstorm watches in place for much of southern Manitoba

Posted on September 18, 2024 by Peggy

A swath of southern Manitoba was under a severe thunderstorm watch Wednesday night, including the cities of Winnipeg and Brandon.

Environment Canada said earlier that thunderstorms had already started in the Brandon area Wednesday evening. A severe thunderstorm warning was issued for Brandon and the municipality of North Cypress-Langford, including Neepawa and Carberry just after 9 p.m., but it was later lifted.

As of 10 p.m., thunderstorm watches remained in effect for much of southern Manitoba, from the Brandon area to as far east as the Steinbach area, which was already hit by heavy rainfall this week.

The alerts extend as far north as the Neepawa area in western Manitoba, and up into the Interlake region further east.

The alert said conditions are favourable for the development of severe thunderstorms Wednesday night, with storms that could bring upwards of 50 millimetres of rain, wind gusts in excess of 90 kilometres per hour, loonie-sized hail and the risk of tornadoes.