The City of Winkler has been rated number one for the best place to live in the Prairies based on weather.

MoneySense.ca put together a Top 10 list for the different regions across Canada according to weather. Manitoba and Saskatchewan are put together in the Prairies category.

The annual days with rain or snow for Winkler was measured at 102.7 days, nearly 14 days more than Selkirk. The annual days above 20 C is 108.8, slightly above 6.5 days more than Selkirk.

Authors of the post explain they ranked cities based on Environment Canada's three-decade averages of statistics on temperature and precipitation. They also rewarded cities that have few rainy days, but a total amount of rainfuall that's as close as possible to an ideal of 700 mm.

According to CMOS Accredited Weathercaster Chris Sumner, it doesn't come as a big surprise Winkler topped the list of cities with the best weather on the Prairies.

"Our continental climate does bring extremes in winter and summer, with bitterly cold temperatures, blazing hot heat and the potential for dramatic swings. With that said, that continental climate also helps limit the amount rainfall we see, and is a factor in how many sunny days we receive each year."

Sumner further explained, because Winkler is essentially located in the middle of North America, we don't deal with the coastal low-pressure systems places like British Columbia and the Maritimes receive which can bring days of rain and cloud cover at certain times of the year.

Winkler is also more likely to receive the positive benefits of summertime high pressure which typically means lots of sunshine and very warm temperatures, a pattern the region has experienced for a good portion of summer 2018, Sumner explained.

Winkler Mayor Martin Harder says having great weather doesn't hurt, noting Winkler is the fastest growing city in Manitoba according to the latest census.

"It's a great environment to raise a family, and it's the people in Winkler that make a difference, and that's what attracts others," Harder said.

"It's interesting over the last number of years, we've seemed to have later falls and very early springs," Harder said, adding the weather allows for a longer agricultural growing season, which he notes is the economic backbone of the community.

Cities with numerous days with a minimum temperature above 0 C and a high temperature above 20 C also scored higher