Smoke, heat, rain and flooding; what to expect from Western weather

Parts of eastern B.C. and much of Alberta are facing threats of heavy rainfall while portions of Saskatchewan and Manitoba deal with high heat and for some communities, poor air quality due to wildfire smoke.

Saskatchewan faces yellow heat warnings across much of the province – a concern as firefighters continue to battle multiple active fires.

According to Environment Canada, daytime highs could stay near 30 C on Sunday and people are urged to take action to protect themselves and others. Some communities in the central part of the province, including Prince Albert, are also under a yellow air quality warning due to wildfire smoke.

The agency says both air quality and visibility could fluctuate over short distances and vary hour to hour. People are asked to limit time spent outdoors due to the risk of wildfire smoke, and consider reducing or rescheduling outdoor sports and activities.

The Lobstick fire, near Prince Albert, recently forced a mandatory evacuation for those south of Shellbrook. Saskatchewan’s Public Safety Agency said in a Facebook post Sunday the fire has not grown or threatened any new structures. The agency also said retardant lines around the fire are holding and crews are now focused on extinguishing the blaze.

Red Earth Cree Nation announced an evacuation on Sunday due to nearby wildfires. The evacuation comes just weeks after the community had to evacuate at the beginning of May due to flood waters rising in the north.

As Saskatchewan deals with wildfires, the Regional District of East Kootenay in B.C. issued an evacuation alert Sunday for the Fairmont Creek area due to risk of debris flow and flooding, with people urged to be ready to leave on short notice.

The alert comes as sections of East Kootenay, including Yoho and Kootenay National Park, and Elk Valley are under special weather statements with the potential of nearly 60 to 80 millimetres of rainfall possible in some areas. Areas further west could see closer to 40 mm, but Environment Canada is warning of an elevated risk of flooding, landslides and washouts.

Next door, the western part of Alberta is under its own special weather statements for a long-lasting rainfall event with 40 to 60mm of rainfall likely by Tuesday. Higher level areas could also see between 10 to 20 cm of snow.

Central and eastern portions of Alberta, including Edmonton, Red Deer and Calgary, are under yellow rainfall warnings with heavy rain to continue through to Wednesday. Between 50 and 100 mm of rain are possible, but localized total amounts could exceed 100 mm.

In Manitoba, high heat is the challenge, with communities like Winnipeg, Thompson and Bissett all under yellow warnings. Temperatures are forecast to remain in the low 30s in the coming days, though Environment Canada says they are expected to moderate across the province’s south on Monday.