Summer of unsettled weather expected across the Prairies

It hasn’t exactly felt like the start of summer across the southern Prairies. 

The trend this June has been below seasonal daytime highs, severe thunderstorms and unsettled weather.

It’s all due to a persistent pattern of upper low pressure systems coming from the Pacific and stalling out toward the Prairies. 

That’s “kept us really cool, cooler than average maybe, especially further west. Alberta maybe a little bit less so overnight,” said Julien Corriveau, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC).

“Saskatchewan [is] kind of in between where it’s been a little bit closer to average.”

The province’s average temperatures are closer to seasonal because of the warmer overnight lows in the low to mid-teens. 

During the day, it’s been slightly cooler than average. Daytime highs in Saskatoon haven’t reached 30 C once this month. The warmest daytime high in the city so far in June reached 26.9 C.

The last time Saskatoon experienced a June without a 30 C day was in 2024; before that, the city hadn’t seen a June this cool since 2014.

The average daytime high in Saskatoon this month was only 20.7 C. Normally in June it would be over 22 C.

Heavy rain, severe thunderstorms this weekend

Another low pressure system is moving into the western Prairies this weekend, bringing very heavy rain to Alberta and Saskatchewan. Severe thunderstorms are also expected with this system.

Thunderstorm risks will be the most severe in south and central Saskatchewan and southwestern Manitoba.

Risks include strong winds with gusts up to 100 km/h, quarter- to ping-pong-sized hail and periods of very heavy rainfall.

The Prairies have been familiar with unsettled weather this month, with several thunderstorms producing large hail and tornadoes.

There have been seven confirmed tornadoes so far in Saskatchewan this year. A few hit in May, three on June 7 and one June 9.

The tornado on June 9 in Oxbow, Sask., was an EF-3 on the enhanced Fujita scale. It was the first EF-3 to hit the country this year and the first time the province has seen a tornado this strong in over a decade. 

“The average per year for Saskatchewan is 14 to 15; we’re halfway there,” said David Sills, the director of the Northern Tornadoes Project.

“I don’t think the early start is any indication of how the season will end.”

Last summer, Saskatchewan recorded more tornadoes than average, a total of 17. Ten of those hit the province in a single day last June .

The severe conditions seen this month may be here to stay.

“The warm, moist air mass will be returning to the Prairies probably starting at the end of next week,” Sills said. “And we can expect all of the big severe weather with that.”

Funnel cloud activity will also be likely, which is an indication that an area is experiencing strong vortex and that a tornado may occur.

Rain or shine: outdoor sports scene still thriving

The heaviest rainfall and unsettled weather has happened to hit over the weekends this month.

Darren Cannell founded the Canadian Volleyball Elite Academy, based out of Saskatoon. He said despite the heavy rain and cooler temperatures, his players keep coming out to the court.

“It’s been a little chillier and a little less sunny than it normally is, so we use it as a learning tool for all our athletes,” Cannell said.

“We train them how to play, and part of that training is being able to compete in the elements.”

Last year’s wildfire smoke also posed difficulties for players, and there’s typically a new weather challenge to adapt to every year, he said.

“The people who don’t want to play, unless the weather’s beautiful, there’s no wind, there’s no rain, there’s no dust, there’s no smoke, they’re not going to play a lot of beach [volleyball] because we end up with a lot of different weather, and it changes all the time.”

He credits the unsettled weather for creating more resilient outdoor sports players.

Heading into July, ECCC promises warmer temperatures are on the way, but warns that it may be another summer full of severe weather and heavy rain.