Colleen Bready's forecast: thunderstorms possible in Manitoba

Amid continued heat and humidity on Friday, an approaching cold front could make things interesting on Friday.

A heat warning has ended for the western half of Manitoba. An upper ridge of high pressure responsible for the heat over the last couple of days is weakening.

The warning continues, though, for Winnipeg, most of the southeast, Island Lake in the northeast, and northwestern Ontario.

As the cold front approaches these areas, it could trigger thunderstorms as it clashes with the hot and humid air mass over the region.

As of early Friday afternoon, severe thunderstorms have already developed in the northwest and eastern areas.

However, there is potential for severe thunderstorms late this afternoon and evening in the southeast, particularly in the corner of the province near the Minnesota border.

If they develop, the main threats include large hail, damaging wind gusts, and even a tornado.

However, thunderstorms further west that developed along the cold front Thursday night were slow to get going.

That means storms could skip the southeast and develop overnight instead in northwestern Ontario.

Once the front passes by, smoke from wildfires in B.C. will begin to spread east.

The weekend will still be quite hot and humid in Winnipeg. Look for daytime highs in the upper 20s with a mix of sun and cloud on Saturday and Sunday.