It’s almost the weekend, but Winnipeg and most of southern Manitoba are looking at gloomy, wet weather that isn’t expected to let up anytime soon.
Some areas, such as Winkler and Morden, have already seen around 15 millimetres of rain fall since midnight, and some regions along the U.S. border have seen even more.
Environment Canada’s Kyle Ziolkowski told 680 CJOB’s The Start that the rainfall warning remains in place for a large swath of the province, and that Manitobans should expect a “significant” amount of precipitation.
“It’s looking very likely that we’re getting close to 50 millimetres,” he said.
“There could be pockets in there that could be higher depending on if there’s any heavier rain bands that set up and how fast they move over an area.”
Rain, heavy at times, is expected to fall throughout the day Friday, eventually tapering off by Saturday afternoon.
“We’re already seeing significant accumulations, and that’ll just continue to push northwards. It should be the heaviest this morning, pretty much between Brandon and Winnipeg.”
Ziolkowski said Friday is also expected to be windy, with gusts around 60 kilometres an hour.
Farmers have been affected by the ongoing rain across the province, although some, like Argyle-area producer Ian Smith, told The Start that as frustrating as the downpour has been, it’s still better than the drought much of southern Manitoba experienced four years ago.
All the rain, he said, has been wreaking havoc on gravel and dirt roads.
Smith said while he hasn’t got his barley crop in yet, it’s getting late for other sensitive crops like soybeans and canola, and the rain causes longer delays than people might expect.
“There was a six-day delay. You get rain, and then it breaks for maybe half a day, but it still needs a half a day to dry … and then we get more rain so you’re not gaining anything.
“There was a good six days where people weren’t rolling in the fields again around this Argyle/Stonewall/Woodlands area.”
Being at the mercy of the weather, Smith said, is just part of the gig when it comes to being a farmer.
“Mother Nature is our boss, to be honest. Some people say, ‘you’re your own boss,’… but we’re by far not our own boss. Mother Nature is.”
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