If you haven’t been outside since the beginning of July you may have missed all the rain. Like a lot of rain. So much rain we’ve already crossed the average precipitation mark for July.
As you might expect this has caused some problems in various sectors across Manitoba.
One sector with the darkest storm clouds is road construction. Many projects have experienced delays due to the excessive precipitation according to Manitoba Heavy Construction Association president and CEO Chris Lorenc.
“It’s frustrating,” Lorenc explained. “So imagine, in our industry that we’re trying to find a dry spell and conditions which allow us that dry deck upon which to either replace an existing road or build a new road. If it’s wet, if the water is pooling or the conditions are too moist, we have to wait.”
Lorenc knows that is a frustrating answer for many, especially for those with plans of hitting the highway for a summer road trip. The delays aren’t something that make contractors enthusiastic.
“No contractor out there with a job wants to delay it till next year,” said Lorenc. “No contractor wants to spend any more time than is necessary to build what they have been contracted to build.”
Another drenched area of the economy is agriculture. Jake Ayre with Keystone Agricultural Producers says after two years of drought, wetter weather came roaring in leaving many fields across Southern Manitoba looking more like lakes.
“So we’ve gone from one extreme to the other. We’ve gone from too dry in the last two years, to now, we’re on the other end of the spectrum and it’s too wet,” Ayre said. “We’re ranging anywhere from, I believe it’s 99% of typical precipitation accumulation…I read in the latest Manitoba AG report was Winkler at 226%.”
However, while it’s a little wetter than most producers would like, there is optimism when it comes to the growing season.
“Lots of people are waiting to get back into the fields, whether it’s do some cultivation, whether it’s to do some pesticide applications for weeds or, disease management too. So traveling on the land can be quite interesting right now,” said Ayre. “The warmer weather will will help dry up some of these saturated spots and, you know, allow farmers to get back onto the field to to cut some hay, to do some field work, and for the crops to take.”
The forecast is expected to improve in the coming days. Scott Kehler, chief scientist with Weatherlogics says by as early as next week, residents in Southern Manitoba will be feeling those summer rays.
“Starting next week, we’re seeing a trend toward much warmer temperatures,” explained Kehler. “The jet stream is going to end up moving farther north into the northern prairies, and that’s going to allow a lot of warm air from the United States to move up into southern Manitoba, likely bringing temperatures approaching the 30 degree mark.”
That news isn’t all sunshine and rainbows though. As the mercury rises, so can the humidex. And that could result in more frequent storms.
“I just like to remind everybody to keep in mind when we get started to get this really humid weather that can fuel severe thunderstorms,” Kehler said. “These thunderstorms can produce large hail, damaging winds, heavy rain and tornadoes. So as we get into this pattern, keep your eye on the sky and and heed, any storms that are headed your way.“