Colleen Bready's Forecast: Heat dome settling over Manitoba

An upper ridge of high pressure parked over the prairies continues to bring the heat to Winnipeg and most of Manitoba and northwestern Ontario on Friday.

It’s created a heat dome that won’t be moving off anytime soon, so be prepared for heat and humidity through the weekend into early next week.

In Winnipeg, Brandon and the rest of the south, expect hot highs Friday approaching 30 C and humidex values in the mid to upper 30s.

As hot and humid as that is, it is below the threshold required for Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) to issue a heat warning.

But heat warning or not, make sure to take the proper precautions to reduce any risks to your health.

Northwestern and north-central regions, however, are under a continued heat warning on Friday. Temperatures and humidex values will be just as high in those areas as in the south, but the threshold to trigger a heat warning is lower.

A cold front associated with a low way out over northern Quebec will slump southward over southern Manitoba today. It could trigger thunderstorms as it clashes with abundant moisture in the air.

If they do develop, thunderstorms could move slowly and dump as much as 40-80 mm in the south this afternoon and evening.

Northwestern regions along the Saskatchewan border can also expect a band of smoke moving through today into Saturday. Smoke in Flin Flon moved into the community early this morning.

The weekend will be hot and humid in Winnipeg with some sunshine before a brief break from higher temperatures early next week.