Indian farmers’ hopes for bumper crops following this year’s abundant monsoon rains were dashed by heavy downpours just before harvest that damaged their fields.
Monsoon promise turns sour for India’s crops ruined by late downpours
Global warming and rainfall for Prairie farmers
As the atmosphere warms, farmers in the Prairie region could see more heavy rainfalls
Reading Time: 4 minutes Heavy rainfalls will become more common as the prevailing climate conditions on the Canadian Prairies become more conducive for their development, weather expert Daniel Bezte says.
Heatwaves and upper highs
Sunshine and sinking air mean rising temperatures
Reading Time: 4 minutes Weather expert Daniel Bezte looks at heat waves and the climate factors that lead to extended periods of high heat in the Prairies.
Thunderstorms and straight-line winds
Straight-line winds in thunderstorms can cause as much damage as a tornado
Reading Time: 4 minutes Weather columnist Daniel Bezte discusses the strength of straight-line winds during a thunderstorm and the damage they can cause.
Alberta dwarfs the Prairies in hail claims
It’s not just because we get more hail, says crop insurance expert
Reading Time: 3 minutes When a province has a huge chunk of its geography referred to as “hailstorm alley,” it’s not surprising crop producers would get a lot of payouts for hail damage. But does that alone explain why total insurance payouts for hail damage in Alberta are about seven times more than the other Prairie provinces? According to […] Read more
What makes a tornado?
There are competing theories as to why these destructive storms develop
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
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
Heavy rain — where does all that water come from?
When a thunderstorm rolls in on a warm summer day, there’s an awful lot of water over your head
Reading Time: 3 minutes In the last issue we went into some detail on how thunderstorms develop, and how they can go from your average summer day thunderstorm to a severe thunderstorm. Thunderstorms can bring a wide variety of severe weather with them: heavy rains, hail, high winds, lightning, and, on some occasions, tornadoes. After an extended period of […] Read more
Why Alberta gets more than its fair share of hail
The number or size of thunderstorms is less important than how close the freezing layer is to the ground
Reading Time: 4 minutes It’s time to continue our series of articles on different types of severe summer weather. I like to re-examine these topics every year or two due to the importance of understanding the different types of severe weather, and also because most people find this aspect of weather so fascinating. In this issue we are going to […] Read more
Diving a little deeper into summer weather and tornadoes
Tornadoes are nearly impossible to study but we do know a lot about the mechanics of how they form
Reading Time: 3 minutes In this instalment, we’ll continue our look at severe thunderstorms, and specifically, the most deadly part — tornadoes. While eastern parts of the Prairies have only seen a few isolated severe thunderstorms, parts of Saskatchewan and Alberta have already seen their fair share. I think most Canadians were more than impressed, and maybe a little bit […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
