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Thunderstorms hit southern Manitoba on 1st day of summer

Thunderstorms hit southern Manitoba on 1st day of summer

Parts of southern Manitoba were drenched by a couple of thunderstorms that brought rain, hail and even funnel clouds last night.

Severe thunderstorm warnings were issued for a number of areas on Saturday evening, including Winnipeg and surrounding rural municipalities, Portage la Prairie, parts of the Pembina Valley, Gimli and Lac du Bonnet.

The funnel clouds were spotted in the Lorrette and Hamiota areas, but there was no indication that they touched down or caused any serious damage.

While Winnipeg received mostly rain, hail was reported north of of the city, said Dan Fulton, a meteorologist with Environment Canada.

"We had golfball-sized hail reported in St. Andrews and Selkirk, and we also had some quarters in Stonewall and some nickels in Beausejour. So it tracked for quite a while north of the city," he told CBC News.

Fulton said there is a slight chance of more storms on Sunday afternoon, but the system will be much weaker than it was on Saturday night.

"The set-up's much weaker today. We could well see thunderstorms late this afternoon but there's not nearly as much energy available for them, so it'd be more garden variety," he said.