As forecast, cold and sunny conditions moved in last week and, as predicted, the coldest weather occurred over the weekend, with many locations across southern and central Manitoba seeing overnight lows in the -35 to -40 C range — temperatures not seen since the winter of 2014, all thanks to the infamous polar vortex. It
Forecast: A couple of weeks of cold weather ahead
Issued January 21, 2018: Covering the period from January 23 to January 30
Forecast: Solid week of cold weather ahead
Issued January 14, 2018: Covering the period from January 16 to January 23
The first part of last week’s forecast played out pretty much as expected, but things fell apart a little bit toward the end of the forecast period. The expected ridge of high pressure did build to our west, and we did see mild air move in over the weekend, just not to the initial extent
Forecast: Warm mid-winter weather ahead
Issued January 7, 2018: Covering the period from January 10 to January 17
After a snowy start to this week it looks like our old pattern of dry and seasonable weather will move back in for the remainder of this forecast period. It’s always tough to create a forecast when a major weather event is unfolding (I must write the forecasts late Sunday or early Monday morning), as
A quick look back at global weather in 2018
We’re looking at a 90 per cent chance of a weak El Niño through this winter
To wrap up last year’s weather articles, I thought I would do a quick look back at how the globe fared, weather-wise, during 2018. To start, let’s look back at November: according to both NOAA and NASA, it was the fifth warmest on record with the only warmer months coming in 2015, 2013, 2010 and
Late weather-related holiday gift ideas
With weather stations, as with most things in life, you get what you pay for
With fairly quiet winter weather across the Prairies and as we head into the holiday season, it can be a tough time of year to come up with weather-related articles. I have to thank one reader who reminded me that I didn’t do my usual article on weather-related gift ideas, and while it might be
Forecast: More seasonable temperatures expected
Issued December 17, 2018: Covering the period from December 19 to December 30
The only issue with last week’s forecast was underestimating the magnitude of the warm air last Friday and Saturday, as temperatures in most locations across southern and central Manitoba managed to rise several degrees above 0 C. Of particular interest was just how warm some of the overnight lows were, with temperatures actually rising overnight
Forecast: Above-average temperatures expected
Issued December 10, 2018: Covering the period from December 12 to December 19
After seeing one cold day last Thursday into Friday, the expected mild Pacific air moved in over the weekend, bringing a return to seasonable temperatures. A few areas were able to see the really mild air mix down on Sunday, which allowed temperatures to rise above the freezing mark. It looks like these mild temperatures
A warm and dry December and January?
Outbreaks of arctic air on the Prairies last month centred mainly on Manitoba
After a cold and snowy October across the Prairies, a number of people were expecting much of the same in November. Depending on where you live, this kind of came true. Starting in the west, Alberta dodged most of the cold air and actually lived up to what the long-range computer forecasts predicted: above-average temperatures.
Forecast: Cool start, warm end to forecast
Issued December 3, 2018: Covering the period from December 3 to December 10
Last week’s forecast played out fairly well, with the exception of Thursday’s snowfall. The area of low pressure was forecast to bring a little bit of snow, but it ended up taking a more southerly route and dropped more snow than expected. It wasn’t any bigger or stronger than forecast; it just brought a bit
Forecast: Our blah weather pattern continues
Issued November 26, 2018: Covering the period from November 28 to December 5
As far as weather forecasts have turned out lately, last week’s forecast wasn’t too far off. We did see some milder weather move in late last week and there were a few flurries over the weekend. What didn’t turn out as well were the temperatures, as slightly cooler-than-forecast air moved in over the weekend and