As the threat of wildfires continues throughout Manitoba, some parts of the hard-hit northern part of the province may see a bit of relief soon, Environment and Climate Change Canada says.
Senior climatologist David Phillips told Global Winnipeg that cooler-than-usual temperatures are in the forecast for parts of northern Manitoba by mid-week — which could prove beneficial for firefighting efforts in the region.
“Up in Flin Flon, for example, by Wednesday, the temperature will be six degrees below what (it) normally should be — a high of 14, not the 27-28 they have been,” Phillips said.
“So that’s going to be helping to fight the fires and just to live in that area with all of the smoke.”
And with the cooler temperatures comes a bit of rain, at least intermittently, expected this weekend. Phillips said it won’t be a torrential downpour, but it does have the potential to help slow the spread of the fires.
“Saturday, Sunday are periods of rain,” he said.
“Not the kind of rain you’ll need — it won’t be a kind of rain that will restore everything back to normalcy — but at least it’ll be a chance to have more of a percolating, drenching kind of rain that could extinguish fires and put out the smoke and bring some clearer weather.”