Reading Time: 4 minutes The colour of the skies, on the Prairies and elsewhere, tells the story of the paths sunlight takes as it enters Earth’s atmosphere, Daniel Bezte writes.
Why is the sky blue?
A look at some big recent weather stories and more weather basics
U.S. tornadoes destroy chickens, tractors, silos
Chicago | Reuters — A Deere dealership and a Pilgrim’s Pride chicken hatchery were destroyed when deadly tornadoes swept through Kentucky on Friday, while silos holding millions of bushels of corn suffered damage, the companies and the state’s agriculture commissioner said on Monday. At least 64 people, including six children, lost their lives in Kentucky […] 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
Tornado season is upon us — here’s what to watch for
The area between the storm and cloud, clouds with bags hanging from them, and the wind are keys in spotting the danger
Reading Time: 3 minutes So far in our look at severe summer weather, and in particular thunderstorms, we have looked at how thunderstorms form, how they can grow into severe thunderstorms, and finally, how hail is produced. Next up on the severe thunderstorm list is tornadoes! Before we begin our look at tornadoes though, I think we have to […] Read more
It’s that time of year when severe summer weather and tornadoes can form
Tornadoes have occurred in nearly all regions of Canada — here is what to look for when a severe storm is approaching
Reading Time: 3 minutes As we enter the peak season for severe weather across the Canadian Prairies, I figured now would be a good time to continue our look at severe weather and tornadoes. While Alberta doesn’t see the same number of tornadoes relative to areas to the east and south, the province is still subject to these events. Before […] Read more
When Mother Nature goes to extremes, the consequences are massive
Whether it’s heat or cold, dry or wet, you can only hope these records will stand for a long, long time
Reading Time: 3 minutes Each year Environment Canada puts out its Top 10 weather stories and I like to go through them taking a more western focus. I thought it might be interesting to go back over the last 115 years or so and look at some of the biggest weather stories to hit the Canadian Prairies — according […] Read more
Severe summer weather. Taking a look at thunderstorms and wind
Everyone knows what a funnel cloud looks like, but understanding how it forms isn’t easy
Reading Time: 3 minutes In continuing our look at severe thunderstorms, we’ll look at specifically, the most deadly part — tornadoes. What are tornadoes and how do they form? A classic definition of a tornado is a violently rotating column of air that extends from a thunderstorm to the ground, which may or may not be visible as a funnel cloud. For […] Read more
Three-hour tornado & Regina’s wettest day ever
Reuters — A tornado spun for several hours through southwestern Manitoba late Monday in a fierce Canadian Prairie storm that caused flash flooding and shredded part of a highway. No injuries or major damage was reported, according to a statement by Environment Canada, federal weather forecaster. “What was just shocking was the duration on the […] Read more