Reading Time: 3 minutes The conditions across Alberta can be summed up in three words: It’s awfully dry. “As of Tuesday, we’ve been getting some moisture here in central Alberta, which has been a nice break, but I don’t know how general that moisture has been,” AFSC risk analyst James Wright said in an interview June 12. “We haven’t […] Read more
For producers, it’s wait and pray time for rain
Pastures and hayfields have been hardest hit but AFSC analyst still expects a ‘slightly below-average crop’
The damage to crops is done — but how much worse will it get?
It’s not a writeoff yet, but recovery potential is limited and a late harvest seems inevitable, says crop expert
Reading Time: 3 minutes After one of the “driest Mays on record,” producers across the Prairies are wondering how their crops are going to fare this growing season. It’s not looking good. “The crops are going to be substantially smaller than they have been over the past few years,” Bruce Burnett, CWB crop and weather specialist, said in an […] Read more
Things not going as hoped? That’s normal, says crop specialist
Whether it’s production conditions or markets, producers need to have a Plan B
Reading Time: 2 minutes Preparation is key when dealing with the unexpected, says provincial crop specialist Harry Brook. “There’s always a lot of talk about ‘normal’ when talking about cropping and agriculture,” said Brook. “Advanced planning and adjustments are needed to avoid possible devastating results when ‘normal’ doesn’t occur. Whether it applies to spring weather conditions or markets or […] Read more
What’s happening above when it comes down in buckets all day long
It’s been a dry spring, but we’re moving into the time of year when heavy rainfall events occur more frequently
Reading Time: 3 minutes So far this spring, a good portion of Alberta and Saskatchewan has not seen any heavy rainfall events. If you check out the map above you’ll see the large red and amber areas that represent rainfall amounts that are 60 per cent of average or less. Hopefully, my writing about heavy rainfall won’t put a jinx […] Read more
What goes into the making of a heavy rainfall event
Ever wondered why it’s so muggy before some thunderstorms or why some have lulls between torrents of rain?
Reading Time: 3 minutes As we slowly slide into summer it seems an appropriate time to take a look at our next type of severe summer weather — heavy rainfall. Often, when you think of severe weather and heavy rainfall, you don’t put the two together. Oh sure, the Prairies can see huge dumps of rain, but we often dismiss […] Read more
Wind is the wild card in the creation of dust storms
Sun and warm weather can quickly dry out fields, but those conditions don’t usually come with high winds
Reading Time: 3 minutes As I pointed out in the last article, instead of zeroing in on the main culprit of severe summer weather — the thunderstorm — I am going to look at each type of weather warning and outline just what type of weather pattern brings about the best chance of experiencing that warning. The first type […] Read more
Beginning our look at severe summer weather
Knowing an alert from a watch or a warning will help keep you informed, and safe
Reading Time: 3 minutes Usually around this time of the year I start my annual look at severe summer weather, but before we dive into that topic, the global March temperatures are in and the planet has beat another record. March 2015, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), was the warmest March since records began […] Read more
Weather stories from one pole to another
It’s been warm at the poles, raining in the driest place in the world, and California is headed for trouble
Reading Time: 3 minutes The snowpack has pretty much disappeared across farmland on the Prairies, and, as is typical with spring, the snow has come and gone a few times now! That said, for the most part, it was a fairly early year for snow cover loss. With rising temperatures our thoughts slowly begin to shift towards more summer-like weather, […] Read more
It’s getting dry — is it time to worry?
No, says weather expert, but areas across the province are on Bruce Burnett’s watch list
Reading Time: 3 minutes With warm-weather records dropping like flies and bare fields drying out in parts of the province, is there trouble ahead? Don’t worry yet, says Bruce Burnett, weather and crops specialist at the CWB. “I don’t think that this early-spring weather means that we are necessarily headed for a drought,” Burnett said in a March 20 […] Read more
How the winds blow and big spring snowstorms
A new website lets you see how air is moving around the planet, and history proves that late-winter storms can bring major snowfalls
Reading Time: 3 minutes To start off this week I just have to share one of the coolest weather-related websites I’ve come across in a long time. I think it was last year when I shared a link to a website that showed surface winds across North America. It was a website that was actually created as part of an […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
