Colleen Bready's Forecast: Smoke continues as temperatures warm up
It's not the mid-July heat that many are accustomed to, but temperatures are slightly warmer Wednesday than they were on Tuesday.
Daytime highs in Winnipeg, the rest of Manitoba and northwestern Ontario are forecast to reach the low 20s on Wednesday afternoon.
Not much sunshine is expected in Winnipeg, but most other areas should see a mix of sun and cloud.
Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) has continued a special air quality statement for parts of southeastern and eastern Manitoba, closer to the source of wildfire smoke.
The alert stops just short of Winnipeg to the north and east, but smoke is detectable in the city Wednesday.
After winds shifted overnight, ECCC said another plume of smoke from fires east of Lake Winnipeg could reach the Red River Valley on Wednesday.
Expand Autoplay
1 of 36
The Little Sask River
A cool breeze getting ready for whatever is next.
(Photo by Ray Baloun)
Pinawa
Pinawa clouds
(Photo by Lea Bangert)
Monday morning
Monday morning at Dunnottar, Manitoba
(Photo by Bill Miller)
Clouds over Gardenton
Clouds over Gardenton
(Photo by Kim Okapiec)
Jaeger and Wilson
Jaeger and Wilson enjoying the warm, relatively smoke free morning.
(Photo by Barb Lavallee)
Ship docking
Ship docking at the Port of Churchill
(Photo by April Lundie)
American Mink
American Mink at the Seiner river
(Photo by PAULETTE PINSONNEAULT)
Rainbow
Beautiful rainbow over Pelican Lake
(Photo by Jamie Paquin)
Gull Harbour
Gull Harbour Lighthouse
(Photo by Brett House)
Notre Dame de Lourdes
Beautiful and happy owl on perfect day.
(Photo by Diane Simon)
Great Balls of Peonies
Gator and Harlow wholeheartedly agrees to the heavenly scent.
(Photo by Pat Payjack)
Lake Red Squirrel
We feed the lake red squirrel corn on the cob on his special feeder.
(Photo by Tania Kruk)
Storm
Storm last night near St-Pierre
(Photo by Genevieve Hacault)
Breezy morning
Breezy morning and quite smokey
(Photo by Andrew Ashett)
Lightning flash on Caddy Lake
Lightning flash on Caddy Lake, Whiteshell Prov. Park.
(Photo by Mariam Bernstein)
Beautiful Sunset
Beautiful sunset in the Durban area.
(Photo by Ryan Mccullough)
Bald Eagle
Bald eagle is drying its feathers after going after something in the river.
(Photo by Allan Robertson)
Red Sunset
Red sunset
(Photo by Ben Holyk)
Mallard duckling
Mallard duckling in action catching insects.
(Photo by Wade Munro)
The gulls are everywhere
The gulls are everywhere
(Photo by Pat Payjack)
Rainbow
Rainbow over St. Malo.
(Photo by Linda Gay)
Bird River
No better way too start our holidays than coffee on the dock!
(Photo by Tania Kruk)
Split Lake
Fire, smoke, Northern lights and the moon from my backyard.
(Photo by Taralee Beardy)
An artist touches up a mural
An artist touches up a mural on the Gimli seawall as a storm rolls through in the distance.
(Photo by Desiree Rantala)
Northern lights
Northern lights over Split Lake
(Photo by Taralee Beardy)
Sparkles and water
Sparkles and water
(Photo by Sheryl Twardoski)
North Kildonan
North Kildonan
(Photo by Shirley Wark)
Near Gimli
Near Gimli
(Photo by Cynthia Morrow)
Rainbow
Rainbow over Rainbow RM of Elton
(Photo by Lacey Burdeniuk)
Lee river sunset
Lee river sunset
(Photo by Ken Horn)
Near Morris
Near Morris
(Photo by Sandra Harder)
After the storm
After the storm in Dropmore
(Photo by Dan Watson)
Rainbow
Rainbow over Altbergthal, Manitoba
(Photo by Jennifer Klassen)
Stormy Sky
Stormy sky Near Elm Creek
(Photo by Tina Doell)
Somerset storm
Somerset storm
(Photo by Amber Hacault)
Mother Nature's own fireworks for Canada Day
Mother Nature provided some spectacular fireworks for Canada Day!
(Photo by Kat Hedges)
According to the weather agency, 2025 is the third smokiest year on record in Winnipeg so far.
The smokiest year was 1961, followed by 2021. Behind this year, 2023 and 2024 were the fourth and fifth smokiest years, respectively.
Non-severe thunderstorms can't be ruled out Wednesday in northern Manitoba, including in Thompson, not far from wildfires that have recently developed in that region.
ECCC said temperatures will climb close to 30C in the north by the weekend, cautioning that smoke from Saskatchewan could eventually move into the region.
Temperatures in Winnipeg are expected to rise back into the mid-20s this weekend, much closer to normal for this time of year.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
7 hours ago
- CTV News
Localized flooding reported in southern Saskatchewan following string of thunderstorms
Some localized flooding was reported in Eston, Sask. on July 19, 2025. (Courtesy: Verna Robinson) A string of thunderstorms in southern Saskatchewan on Saturday led to some localized flooding in several communities, including Eston, Sask. Social media was similarly flooded by images of standing water in residential areas. According to Brad Vrolijk, lead forecaster with Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), rainfall accumulations weren't overly excessive – but the speed at which the storms moved into some areas was. 'It's not necessarily how much rain overall you get, it's how quickly you get it,' he told CTV News. 'We did also get some reports of overland flooding.' The area east of the Cypress Hills through Shaunavon, to Assiniboia to south of Regina were all at the receiving end of the round of thunderstorms and reported the most rainfall. Pictures from Assiniboia and Eston, Sask. show standing water in some areas. Residents could be seen wading through knee-high water – while others brought out canoes and kayaks to travel through the newly created lakes. Eston, Sask. flooding Some localized flooding was reported in Eston, Sask. on July 19, 2025. (Courtesy: Verna Robinson) Thunderstorm warnings are issued when the ECCC forecasts more than 50 millimetres (mm) of precipitation in an hour. Only one location southeast of Swift Current reported receiving rainfall over the threshold - with 51.6 mm. 'Everywhere else was in-between 15 mm and 30 mm for the most part, which is pretty typical amounts for thunderstorms,' Vrolijk explained. 'Every city's' storm systems are different. So, every city has different thresholds on what rate of rainfall will result in this type of overland flooding … Apparently yesterday, those 15 to 30 mm fell quickly enough that there was some temporary overland flooding.' According to Vrolijk, the storms developed as a result of a low-pressure system that was building over Alberta. Through Sunday and into Monday – there will be an ongoing thunderstorm risk in the south. 'We had the convection yesterday, and then we're going to have some more thunderstorms develop again, primarily south of the Trans-Canada Highway corridor today … tomorrow night, we're looking at probably another big system developing in Montana, and then pushing into southeast Saskatchewan,' he explained. 'So, kind of three days in a row with a chance for rain and thunderstorms for the region.' As of 4:30 p.m. Sunday, a severe thunderstorm warning is active for the area surrounding Regina, Shaunavon in the southwest and a swath of the province's southeast corner including Redvers, Carievale and Elmore.
Winnipeg Free Press
8 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Manitoba Stampede in Morris goes on despite air quality risk
MORRIS — Amid hazy skies and a severe air quality warning blanketing most of the province, the Manitoba Stampede & Exhibition raced ahead with its events, despite the risk wildfire smoke poses to competitors and animals. In front of a nearly sold-out crowd all weekend, cowboys and cowgirls competed in chuckwagon racing, bareback riding and steer wrestling while smoke from wildfires raging in northern Manitoba hung in the air above the grandstand in Morris. 'If it got bad enough, we take the welfare of the stock primarily into concern: the cowboys. competitors, everybody,' Mike Bellisle, president of the Valley Agricultural Society, said on Sunday afternoon. Danae Tonge, an organizer with animal rights group Manitoba Animal Save, said the decision not to cancel the Manitoba Stampede & Exhibition while Manitoba is under a severe air quality warning was irresponsible and puts animal's health at risk. (Submitted) 'It's one of the contingencies we never considered … we've never dealt with it before.' On Friday, Environment Canada issued a special air quality statement warning much of Manitoba would have poor air quality throughout the weekend, owing to wildfire smoke. On Sunday afternoon the air quality health index value in Morris was at 10, which Environment Canada considers a very high risk to health. Brad Vrolijk, a lead forecaster at Environment Canada, said when the air quality index is that high people and animals should do whatever they can do avoid being outdoors. 'It's not pleasant for anybody,' he said. 'There's lots of outdoor events this weekend, so I recognize there's a lot of things people want to do … be inside if you can.' Bellisle said the stampede was playing things by ear in terms of how bad the smoke got, but with a south wind they were hoping it would blow away within a few hours. The stampede has contingency plans for most inclement weather, but this was their first rodeo in dealing with smoke. Bellisle said he did not consider cancelling the event because of the air quality warnings. 'We had our debrief this morning and our prepping meeting, and there was no discussion about it other than it's hazy,' he said. The stampede follows the Canadian Pro Rodeo Association's guidelines for animal husbandry and it has vets on site to assess animal health. 'If they came and said, 'You need to shut down,' we'd shut down immediately,' he said. Other official bodies have guidelines on cancelling events due to air quality. In its guidelines, the Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Authority of Manitoba recommends horse racing be cancelled if the air quality index is 10 or above. That recommendation from the provincial regulator has led to cancellations at Assiniboia Downs in the past. Multiple events had to be cancelled across Manitoba on Sunday over the smoky air. On Sunday morning the Sail West regional championships in Gimli cancelled its competition owing to wildfire smoke. The Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra postponed its Summer Series concert which was due to be held outdoors at Le Patio 340 in St. Boniface. Health Canada says there's no known safe level of exposure for some pollutants in wildfire smoke and it can impact health even at very low levels. Kathleen Parks was at the stampede Sunday afternoon as part of her trip to Manitoba from Nova Scotia to visit family. She didn't consider not attending due to wildfire smoke. 'We bought our tickets and we were going to come either way,' she said. 'We didn't even think about (the smoke).' Danae Tonge, an organizer with animal-rights group Manitoba Animal Save, called the decision to move ahead with the weekend's events in Morris irresponsible. 'The animals being forced to exert themselves in this air quality warning is dangerous and inhumane,' she said. Horses, cattle, calves and other rodeo animals being pushed to exert themselves in smoky air increases the strain on their respiratory and cardiovascular systems, according to Tonge. 'We also know that rodeos self-report animal injuries and deaths, so this information isn't easily obtained by the public, which is a concern,' she said. Tonge and about 25 others protested outside the rodeo on Saturday, as they have every year since 2018, calling for an end to the annual event. 'We had one person come up to us during the protest and tell us that some of the animals, dogs and sheep, appeared to be 'weathered.' That was the term they used, and when we asked further, we were told the animals seemed to be having a tough time with the weather,' she said. Bellisle said animal welfare is top of mind for rodeo organizers and if the smoke got worse, they would postpone the competitions. No animals had been pulled from events owing to respiratory issues as of Sunday afternoon, according to Bellisle. Cancelling an event like the stampede is not as easy as postponing a sporting event or concert, Bellisle added. Riders from across Canada and the United States travel for the competition and about one million dollars' worth of livestock participate in the three-day event. 'It would throw a whole lot of behind the scenes,' he said. 'When you have an event planned, you can't move it. The date is the date, and that's it.' Tuesdays A weekly look at politics close to home and around the world. Contingency plans for air quality will be part of the stampede's emergency plan moving forward, Bellisle said. 'It's just not something we've ever had to deal with. I know it'll come up during our next meeting with the steering committee and we want to do what's right,' he said. Smoke across the Red River Valley is expected to dissipate and conditions will improve by Monday night, but the relief will be short-lived, Vrolijk said. A weather system moving in from Saskatchewan is expected to push smoke eastward, but by mid-week a cold front will bring smoke back to the region. Nicole BuffieMultimedia producer Nicole Buffie is a multimedia producer who reports for the Free Press city desk. Born and bred in Winnipeg, Nicole graduated from Red River College's Creative Communications program in 2020 and worked as a reporter throughout Manitoba before joining the Free Press newsroom in 2023. Read more about Nicole. Every piece of reporting Nicole produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
CBC
8 hours ago
- CBC
'It's really depressing': Thick wildfire smoke continues to cancel events around Manitoba
Social Sharing Thick wildfire smoke hanging over Manitoba continues to cause event cancellations around the province. Bike Winnipeg cancelled its annual Fancy Women Ride on Sunday due to smoke. It's the second time the event has been cancelled this year, after thunderstorms took out the initial event, according to Patty Wiens, an advocate given the title of bicycle mayor of Winnipeg, told CBC News. It's the first year that Bike Winnipeg events have been cancelled purely because of smoke, she said. She says the ride is unlikely to be rescheduled a third time this year. The event is for women to "dress up and ride our bikes together, celebrating being women and celebrating the freedom that bikes bring to women all over the world," Wiens said. "It's been sort of a vehicle for change for women since the Suffragette movement." Event organizers were expecting upwards of 50 people to attend, but Wiens said this year, Bike Winnipeg has chosen to cancel certain events if the air quality is deemed a high risk. "That's a new thing we had to come up with this year because of the wildfire smoke," she said, adding that she'd like to see more political will to combat climate change. "It's really depressing. It feels like we're heading towards apocalyptic times, you know? It feels so strange and just really weird." Environment and Climate Change Canada issued warnings Sunday morning for a large swath of the province, including Winnipeg and Brandon in the south, the Interlake and Thompson in the north. Winnipeg's air quality health index remained in the "very high risk" 10+ level all weekend. The warnings advise people to limit their time outside and reschedule any outdoor activities due to the poor air quality. The poor air quality forced the Winnipeg Youth Soccer Association to move 12 recreational playoff matches indoors after the championship had already kicked off mid-morning Saturday. The Fringe Festival remained open on Saturday, with organizers providing masks to volunteers. Wildfire smoke 'smears around with the winds' Brad Vrolijk, a lead forecaster with Environment and Climate Change Canada, says almost the entire province has been blanketed in smoke this weekend. "Pretty much the only place we don't have air quality warnings out right now is for the extreme southwest down by like Pilot Mound, Melita and Virden, and Churchill [in northeastern Manitoba]," he told CBC News on Sunday. "Everywhere in between has an air quality warning out right now." Vrolijk says much of the smoke hitting southern Manitoba this weekend is likely the same smoke that hit the region a couple of days ago. "The winds have been relatively light the last few days, so we haven't had a lot of flow to blow the smoke far away or anything," he said. "There's just nowhere for it to go, so it just kind of smears around with the winds." The Sail West regional championships in Gimli was also cancelled due to the smoke. "You want to keep them safe to sail another day. We've made a prudent and wise and defendable quite frankly decision to cancel," said Eric Turner, co-chair of the 2025 Sail West competition and president of Sail Manitoba. The four-day event was scheduled to run from July 17-20, with 40 competitors taking part in the competition over the weekend at the Gimli Yacht Club. "I have no qualms whatsoever about the decision we've made today, because it's the right one," said Turner. Turner said this will lead to changes going forward. "We now need to have a policy on air quality. Some sports do, some don't. We should be developing a guideline so we have a basis on which to decide," he said. "We try to keep people safe, it's safety first."
