24 records fall as heat soars in Manitoba

24 records fall as heat soars in Manitoba

Brandon's old record dated to 1901, while hot spot in province was Dauphin at 37 C

The mercury is soaring in Manitoba, leading to long-standing daytime temperature records dropping across the province.

A total of 24 communities sweltered to new records set on Thursday, including one that stood for 125 years and five others that were in place for 107 years.

The oldest one was in Brandon, where the high hit 36 C, surpassing the 1901 record of 33.3 C.

Dauphin was the provincial hot spot at 37 C. Its old record of 35.6 C was set in 1919. Winnipeg's record for the day was also established in 1919, but it wasn't broken on Thursday as the heat peaked at 33.6 C.

These 24 communities set new daily highs on May 28, with the old record in brackets:

The province likely won't see as many records fall Friday, though it'll be close in some places, says CBC Manitoba weather specialist Riley Laychuk.

Winnipeg's record for May 29 is 34.4 C, set in 1939. The forecast on Friday is for a high of 34 C.

Temperatures are expected to climb into the 30s in south and central Manitoba until next week, before returning back to something closer to normal for this time of year, which is about 22 C.

Fire danger in the province is high to extreme due to the heat, which is currently extending north past The Pas and into Flin Flon.

Darren Bernhardt has been with CBC Manitoba since 2009 and specializes in offbeat and local history stories. He is the author of two bestselling books: The Lesser Known: A History of Oddities from the Heart of the Continent, and Prairie Oddities: Punkinhead, Peculiar Gravity and More Lesser Known Histories.