Southern Manitoba was battered by a wild night of storms, with monsoon-like downpours, one confirmed tornado, and vehicles abandoned on flooded roads. The town of Stonewall bore the brunt of the rain, with over 255 millimetres reported as of 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, according to the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS). This is a significant amount of rainfall, and it has caused severe issues for the town's infrastructure.
The sewage system in Stonewall is running at or near capacity, and the town has urged residents to limit unnecessary water use over the next 24 to 48 hours to allow the system to recover. Schools in the Interlake School Division, which stretches from just north of Winnipeg up to Teulon, east to Stony Mountain and west to Woodlands, are also closed due to flooding.
Winnipeg was not spared either, with 117 millimetres of rain recorded at The Forks. Inundated basements, impassable streets, and engulfed underpasses were reported around the city. Many weather stations in the province reported over 50 millimetres, and the intense weather was spread across the province's south, with wind gusts clocked at 130 km/h in the Deloraine area, near the Saskatchewan border.
The storms brought tornado warnings, hail, and heavy rains to much of southern Manitoba, including Winnipeg. The one tornado confirmed as of Wednesday morning touched down in the Ste. Anne area, southeast of Winnipeg, but many others are being investigated in the region. Numerous funnel clouds were also reported.
The weather system started south of Emerson in the U.S. and moved north through Manitoba. Although no possible tornado sightings were reported in Winnipeg, the city was under threat due to thunderstorms that were rotating pretty violently. This is by far the closest day, within a few years, of a tornado hitting Winnipeg or being near Winnipeg.
The storms have caused significant damage, with power outages affecting 32,000 customers in the southern half of the province. Manitoba Hydro is bringing in additional staff to relieve firefighters and police in Winnipeg who are guarding scenes where live wires have fallen. The outages are scattered over a wide area, which means it will take some time to get to all of the repairs.
In contrast, the rain was not as bad in western Manitoba, where severe flooding has impacted the municipalities of Swan Valley West and Minitonas-Bowsman since Sunday. The storms have caused flash floods, with roads washed out and power cut off. The infrastructure minister has stated that everyone is safe, but the situation is dire, with residents describing it as 'like a war zone'.
In conclusion, the wild night of storms in Southern Manitoba has caused significant damage and disruption, with flooding, power outages, and tornado warnings. The town of Stonewall and the city of Winnipeg have been particularly affected, and the storms have raised concerns about the safety of residents and the resilience of infrastructure. The situation is a stark reminder of the impact of extreme weather events and the need for better preparedness and response strategies.
