REGINA – The thunderstorm that struck Regina on June 27 brought heavy, sustained rain that caused flooding.
Adam Ziolkowski, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, said the Queen City received approximately 50 millimetres of rain in just under an hour due to a line of thunderstorms. A severe thunderstorm warning was issued at one point during the mid-afternoon for Regina and a number of other communities.
The city received 63 millimetres from when the rain started June 27 until 7 a.m. June 28.
“There were some reports of flooded basements,” Ziolkowski said, adding he hasn’t received exact locations of basements and roads that were under water.
Elsewhere in the province, the Mankota area east of Grasslands National Park received 74 millimetres over an hour and a half time period to go with 78 kilometre per hour wind gusts, he said.
Environment Canada is also investigating the impact of a line of thunderstorms that moved from Montana into southeast Saskatchewan during the evening of July 27. Severe thunderstorm warnings were issued in numerous RMs.
“There were some reports of wind gusts, but we need to verify those yet,” he said.
The forecast for June 28 includes more unstable weather. A line of thunderstorms has developed east of Regina. Environment Canada is looking at more storms developing in the afternoon along the Manitoba border in east-central Saskatchewan.
“Those storms could bring with them the risk of large hail, damaging winds, more rain, obviously, and there is also the risk of tornados from the storms today," said Ziolkowski.
A severe thunderstorm watch is in effect for communities in 38 RMs, including Estevan and Weyburn, while a tornado watch has been issued for 15 RMs in southeast and east-central Saskatchewan.
A large, low-pressure system centred over southwest Saskatchewan will continue to linger and bring showers and thunderstorm activity in June 29 and 30, he said.
