It has been a record breaking heat wave for southern Manitoba.

The thermostat at the Gretna weather station hit 33 degrees celcius Saturday, with the humidex it felt like 43. Today the high in the area is forecast to reach 28 degrees, with a humidex of 33.

Natalie Hasell with Environment Canada explains there is a large ridge of high pressure sitting over the Prairies, which is creating all of this heat. She says depending on the time of year, a ridge of high pressure can cause very different weather. In this case, because it is summer, it translates into very hot weather.

Though temperatures this week are expected to be in the high 20's and low 30's, Hasell says it might not be enough to cause a Heat Warning to be issued by Environment Canada. She says the criteria for a Heat Warning is when two or more consecutive days reach 32 degrees and when nighttime temperatures do not fall below 16 degrees. You can also have a Heat Warning when two or more consecutive days have humidex values of 38 or higher. A combination of temperature and humidex requirements on consecutive days can also result in a Heat Warning.

And just because it is hot this week, don't think that will translate into severe weather. Hasell says a ridge of high pressure is typically very stable.

"We're not going to see a lot of vertical development in the clouds under a ridge of high pressure," she says. "So as the ridge moves and the conditions change, then we could see some severe weather."

Having said that, Hasell says there is a chance of rain in the forecast for Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Hasell says the long range forecast shows the start of next week should be a little cooler, but then warming up as we hit the weekend of July 20 to 22.