Last week’s forecast was a little hit and miss. We didn’t quite see pure sunny skies on Thursday or Friday, but we did see a few showers move through on Friday. Saturday, for most regions, turned out to be a bit of a bust as a moist easterly flow developed that gave most regions clouds,
Forecast: Cooler with a chance of some rain
Issued June 11, 2018: Covering the period from June 13 to 20, 2018
Warm May, cool spring, warm summer
Environment Canada sees above-average temperatures and near-average precipitation ahead
Another season has come and gone across the Prairies and the main weather question on most people’s minds is, “Just what type of weather will we see this summer?” I’ve always said, if someone could be 75 per cent or more accurate with long-range forecasts, he or she would be rich. Most of the companies
Forecast: Warm summer weather moves back in
Issued June 4, 2018: Covering the period from June 6 to 13, 2018
The early part of last week’s forecast played out pretty close to what the weather models predicted, but the second half kind of fell apart as a strong upper low took control of the weather over the weekend, bringing clouds, rain and cool temperatures. High pressure did build back in to begin the week, which
What makes thunderstorms truly severe?
A storm in the middle of a warm air mass can’t get at the key ingredients for ‘severe’ status
As heat continues to build across the Prairies, the chances for thunderstorms have also increased. We began our look at thunderstorm fundamentals that lead to garden-variety thunderstorms, but while these types of thunderstorms are fun to watch, we all know how quickly they can turn into severe thunderstorms. A couple of weeks ago we talked
Forecast: Active summer pattern developing
Issued May 28, 2018: Covering the period from May 30 to June 6, 2018
As I pointed out in last week’s forecast, some areas would see rain while other areas might miss out, and this is exactly what happened. While some regions have seen the drought conditions come to an end, other areas continue to struggle with dry conditions. For this forecast period, it looks like we may just
The hottest Manitoba summers
For the Winnipeg area, 1983 still reigns as the hottest July-August stretch of all
Several years ago, I took the time to analyze summer temperatures to see when the hottest summer occurred. With the summerlike heat we are beginning to see, I thought it would be interesting to take another look at that data. Surprisingly, trying to find and pull out heat waves that have hit southern and central
Forecast: Hot, but with the chance of rain
Issued May 21, 2018: Covering the period from May 23 to May 30, 2018
My weather forecasts seem to be starting off the same every week now. Last week’s forecast was nearly bang on, except for a little more rain over eastern regions last Friday. For this forecast period, it is going to feel more like mid-summer rather than late spring. While the hot weather will not help those
Time to learn about thunderstorms
When conditions are in place, we have a watch; when storms happen, we have a warning
As spring begins to transition into summer, I like to revisit what I find to be one of the most interesting weather topics: thunderstorms. As temperatures begin to climb and moisture (hopefully) begins to flow northward, the ingredients come together to develop thunderstorms. So far this year we haven’t seen much thunderstorm activity, but as
Forecast: Above-average temperatures, little or no rain
Issued May 14, 2018: Covering the period from May 16 to May 23, 2018
Last week again played out about as close to what was forecast as could be expected. The biggest issue with the forecast was the very cold overnight lows we saw late last week. Cold temperatures were predicted, but the extreme overnight lows were a result of very dry air along with very dry surface conditions
Is the ‘D’ word rearing its ugly head?
Agricultural Manitoba is going into seeding with below-average precipitation in the bank
After a dry to very dry winter and spring across agricultural Manitoba, there comes a time when we have to begin talking about the dreaded “D” word: drought. Looking up some definitions of drought, here is what I have found: In the most general sense, drought originates from a deficiency of precipitation over an extended