Reading Time: 3 minutes Though we are near the end of summer and the peak of thunderstorm season, there are still opportunities for severe weather. Let’s look at the most destructive yet awesome weather event associated with thunderstorms: tornadoes. Worldwide, Canada is second only to the United States in the number of tornadoes occurring each year, with an average […] Read more
What makes a tornado?
There are competing theories as to why these destructive storms develop
Prairie Forecast: Summer trying to hang on
Issued Sept. 6, covering Sept. 6 to 13
The weather models seem to be in good agreement for this forecast period, with no strong storm systems expected to impact the Prairies, making for a fairly high-confidence forecast. This forecast period will start off with a generally west to southwesterly flow across the Prairies. A broad but weak area of low pressure is expected […] Read more
Prairie Forecast: Mostly sunny and warm
Issued Aug. 30, covering Aug. 30 to Sept. 6
It’s a straightforward forecast for this period as the general weather pattern looks to be pretty quiet. It starts with a large area of high pressure centred over the Great Lakes with a weak area of low pressure over Alberta. The Great Lakes high will put sunny skies and warm temperatures over much of Manitoba […] Read more
Thunderstorms and straight-line winds
Under the right circumstances they can be powerful enough to cause significant damage
Reading Time: 3 minutes Let’s do a quick recap of July weather. Alberta was spared the impacts of the large Hudson Bay upper low, with continued above average temperatures experienced in June. Edmonton was the hot spot with a mean monthly temperature of 18.6 C, which was about 2.5 C above average. Calgary came in second with a temperature […] Read more
Prairie forecast: unsettled to start then clearing and warmer
Issued Aug. 23, covering Aug. 23 to 30
Once again, the weather models are in good agreement so confidence in this forecast is fairly high. The only possible issue is that the different weather systems are rather weak which means timing of the systems can change easily. This forecast period starts off with two weak areas of low pressure, one over southern Manitoba, […] Read more
Prairie Forecast Update: Southern areas may get Hilary’s leftovers
Issued Aug. 20, covering Aug. 20-23
An interesting weather pattern is currently in place across western North America with Tropical Storm Hilary taking an unusual northerly track as it comes in off the Pacific Ocean south of California. Tropical storms or hurricanes in that region normally do one of two things: they either recurve back out into the Pacific, or move […] Read more
Prairie Forecast: Upper ridge to bring the heat
Issued Aug. 16, covering Aug. 16-23
After going through a couple of weeks of tough forecasting, with little agreement among the weather models, this forecast period is looking a little more stable with the two main weather models for our region in basic agreement. We start off this forecast with a low over Manitoba that is quickly moving east. To the […] Read more
Prairie Forecast Update: Low to chug through mid-week
Issued Aug. 13, covering Aug. 13-16
The weather models seem to have come to an agreement on the area of low pressure forecasted to come in off the Pacific around mid-week. It looks like the energy from this system will quickly spin up an area of low pressure over north-central Alberta on Tuesday. The low will then quickly deepen and track […] Read more
Heat waves: sunshine and sinking air
Temperatures above 30 C have cropped up a lot this year, but what makes up an official heat wave?
Reading Time: 3 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – Let’s continue our look at severe summer weather by examining heat waves. While we have seen recent hot weather, it pales in comparison to some of the extreme heat reported in other parts of our planet this July. Heat waves have enveloped large portions of the Northern Hemisphere, bringing record-breaking heat to […] Read more
Prairie Forecast: Cooler and unsettled
Issued Aug. 9, covering Aug. 9 to 16
First off, I must apologize for not producing an update to the last forecast; I had the opportunity to do some backwoods camping, which meant I was off the grid for about five days. I’m back now, and from the weather model runs I’ve been able to check out, this forecast period is going to […] Read more