Even with some uncertainty in the last forecast, the weather models did a surprisingly good job. At one point it looked like I was going to have to send out an update as the models started trending toward a cooler pattern, but they quickly reversed back to a warm pattern. This brought the expected heat […] Read more
Prairie Forecast: Warm fall weather to continue
Issued Sept. 20, covering Sept. 20-27
Hurricane Lee churns toward New England, Eastern Canada
Nova Scotia may see storm surge up to three feet
Reuters — Hurricane Lee barreled across the North Atlantic toward New England and Eastern Canada on Friday, threatening to bring drenching rains, powerful winds and a life-threatening storm surge to the region over the weekend. Lee is expected to weaken into a strong tropical storm before making landfall in southwestern Nova Scotia as a strong […] Read more
Prairie Forecast: One last push of summer-like temperatures
Issued Sept. 13, covering Sept. 13-20
As we work our way slowly into fall, we are starting to see a more fall-like pattern beginning to develop — especially when it comes to overnight lows. While the upcoming forecast does not look like we see a big fall cooldown, there is more and more deviation developing between different runs of the forecast […] 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
Nova Scotia farmers granted late AgriStability entry
Enrolment for 2023 now an option until Dec. 31, 2024
Nova Scotia farmers who aren’t in on AgriStability for 2023 and whose operations were hit hard by weather events this spring and/or summer now have until the end of next year to enroll. The Nova Scotia and federal governments on Friday announced enrolment for the ag income stabilization program, which ended on April 30, has […] Read more
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
Rest of September to be warmer than normal for Prairies
Southern Prairies to remain drier than normal
MarketsFarm — As summer turns to autumn on the Canadian Prairies, the weather outlook for the rest of September is for temperatures to be warmer than normal, according to Scott Kehler, chief scientist for Weatherlogics. One of the factors in those forthcoming temperatures is the El Niño that has been developing over the last several […] Read more
Panama Canal water levels at historic lows, restrictions to remain
Lake feeding canal low on rainfall
Panama City | Reuters — The Panama Canal’s water levels have not recovered enough as the end of the rainy season approaches and limits on daily transit and vessel draft will stay in place for the rest of the year and throughout 2024, the waterway’s authority said on Tuesday. The restrictions, implemented earlier this year […] Read more
Drought hits southern ranchers hard
As grazing co-ops cut stocking rates and water levels drop, tough decisions are being made
Reading Time: 3 minutes With scarce water, big heat and short grass, the 2023 southern Alberta grazing season has been a slow-rolling disaster. On July 12, for the second time in 20 years, the Special Areas Board declared a state of agricultural disaster for Special Areas 2, 3 and 4 due to prolonged drought. The Special Areas cover five […] Read more
Orange juice prices near all-time high as storm hits Florida
Crop was already expected to be small
New York | Reuters — Orange juice prices at the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) rose more than three per cent on Wednesday, heading back toward an all-time high hit earlier this month, as storm Idalia slammed parts of main U.S. orange producer Florida. Contracts for frozen concentrated orange juice (FCOJ) at ICE hit a high of […] Read more
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