After a colder-than-average winter across the Prairies that saw mean winter temperatures between 1.5 and 2.5 C below the long-term average, most of us were hoping spring would turn out a little better. Unfortunately, it didn’t; while our spring may have been a wee bit better than our winter, it wasn’t by much. While the
Will a cooler summer follow a cooler spring?
True, the almanacs predicted a colder-than-average spring, but also a wetter spring
Forecast: Warmer, with a chance of showers
Issued June 3, 2019: Covering the period from June 5 to 12
Last week’s forecast played out fairly close to what the weather models were predicting with one major exception. The area of low pressure that tracked southeastward through our region last Friday didn’t bring much in the way of clouds or showers, but it did open the door for a very unseasonably cold air mass to
Continuing with severe summer weather: Tornadoes
The peak tornado months within Canada’s tornado season are approaching
I know in the May 23 issue I said we would take a break from our annual look at severe weather and take a look back at the spring of 2019, then see what the latest long-range forecasts say. It appears I was a little ahead of myself as there are still five days left
Forecast: Warmer with a chance of thundershowers
Issued May 27, 2019: Covering the period from May 29 to June 5
The weather models now consistently show a break in our weather pattern with a more seasonable pattern developing. This means warmer temperatures, and while it doesn’t look like we will see any big storm systems, with warmer weather comes the risk of thunderstorms. We begin this forecast period with a broad ridge of high pressure
Forecast: Seasonable with a chance of some rain
Issued May 20, 2019: Covering the period from May 22 to May 29
Surprisingly, last week’s forecast didn’t turn out too bad, considering all the differences between the weather models last weekend. Not sure what the better trade-off was: cool and dry, or cool and wet? From my observations, it seems like most of the planting has been done, and while there is OK soil moisture, things are
Forecast: Lots of uncertainty in the week ahead
Issued May 13, 2019: Covering the period from May 15 to May 22
The two main weather models I look at when trying to come up with the forecast each week are interpreting the overall big picture similarly for the next week or two — but as I’ve pointed out several times over the years, a difference of only a few hundred kilometres can have a major impact
Forecast: Seasonable weather, but continued dry spell
Issued May 6, 2019: Covering the period from May 8 to May 15
It finally looks like we are almost done dealing with a large upper-level low that has been controlling our weather over the last couple of weeks. The main upper low did track across north-central Manitoba over the weekend as predicted, but instead of moving off into Quebec, it looks like it will meander over Hudson
Forecast: A slow warming trend ahead
Issued April 29, 2019: Covering the period from May 1 to May 8
Once again, last week’s forecast quickly fell apart as cool high pressure combined with a retrograding upper low over Northern Canada played havoc with the forecast. What looked to be a fairly wet period turned out to be dry, as the forecast areas of low pressure were pushed to our south with only far western
Planet continues to run hot
Don’t confuse our local weather with what’s happening globally
I wish I could open this article talking about how the medium-range forecast for the next couple of weeks is all about sunshine, warmth, and nice drying weather. Unfortunately, if you take a look at this issue’s forecast, it is looking like we might just be moving into a cool, wet period. Right now, I
Forecast: Is the dry spring weather coming to an end?
Issued April 22, 2019: Covering the period from April 24 to May 1
For the first time in a while, last week’s forecast played out pretty close to what the weather models were predicting, with the added bonus of temperatures ending up a little warmer than expected. This forecast period will begin with a predominantly zonal flow with the jet stream tracking across the southern Prairies. This will