By Adriana Christianson

More than 3 inches of rain possible for southern Sask.

Jul 27, 2015 | 11:44 AM

With rainfall warnings, thunderstorm watches and even tornado watches, it looks like southern Saskatchewan is getting a month’s worth of severe weather all in one day.

CJME Weather Specialist John Wilson says there is a band of thunderstorms coming up from the southeast.

“This whole system is winding up over Montana and when I say winding up, I mean it’s got a lot of spin to it and the winds are already up with this thing; it’s going to be quite windy for the next 24 to 36 hours and the system has quite a lot of rain to it,” he said on Monday morning.

A rainfall warning was put into effect for most of the southern half of the province early Monday morning reaching from the southwest corner near the Alberta border through to the Manitoba border near Hudson Bay. Regina, Moose Jaw, Outlook and Humboldt are all under the weather warning.

Environment Canada issues a warning when a significant amount of rain is expected in a short time span.

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“We’re going to see quite a bit more rain. The farmers have been dying for rain but they may get too much at once,” Wilson said.

He is predicting 15 to 25 millimetres of rain on Monday with another 15 to 25 millimetres over night and even more on Tuesday.

“The total rainfall in spots could be 50 to 80 millimetres which is about three inches of rain at once and that’s more than some of these farms have had since April,” Wilson explained.

He says the system is spinning on the surface, creating rotating thunderstorms which carry the risk of tornadoes.

A tornado watch was issued for Carlyle, Oxbow, Carnduff and Bienfait Monday morning. A watch means weather conditions carry the potential for tornadoes. Watches are upgraded to warnings if a funnel cloud is actually spotted on radar or reported by people in the area.

There are several teams of storm chasers heading to the Estevan area.

“This is one of the highest-risk tornado days and severe thunderstorm days that we have seen in Saskatchewan in 2015,” said Tornado Hunter Greg Johnson.

His team is focusing on an area between Estevan and Gainsborough along Highway 18. He says tornadoes are extremely hard to predict. His advice is to stay inside and pay attention to Environment Canada warnings.

If you do have a tornado warning in your area, stay inside and try to get underground. If you can’t get underground, the best place to be is in an interior room like a bathroom.

Just before noon, The Water Security Agency issued flood warnings for much of southern Saskatchewan. 

“Rainfall intensities are expected to be highest along the portion of the southern Saskatchewan-Manitoba Border overnight and are the area of greatest concern,” they released in a statement. 

The Water Security Agency will be monitoring the situation. For updated information, visit their website. 

AChristianson@rawlco.com
Follow on Twitter: @AdrianaC_JME