Temperatures on a roller-coaster

Weather forecast for week of Nov. 25, 2013

The weather looks to be settling into a bit more of a predictable pattern. Last week’s forecast was pretty good, with most systems moving and behaving as forecasted by the weather models. For this forecast period it looks like our current up-and-down pattern will continue. The weather models show us in a predominantly northwesterly flow

What are the odds for big snowfalls?

As we’ve been learning over the years, certain weather-related questions sound simple enough, but when you actually start to look at the question, it becomes tougher to figure out. Take trying to figure out when winter actually begins: the tough part is how to define just what constitutes the start of winter. Should it be


Expect plenty of Arctic air

Weather forecast for week of Nov. 21

With most regions now having at least a light covering of snow, it’s definitely starting to look like winter. Combine the snow cover with a couple of shots of arctic air and this forecast period is going to start feeling like winter too! The area of low pressure expected to help bring mild weather to

Warm and dry or cold and snowy winter?

In the last issue I promised we would take a look at the long-range winter forecasts, but before we do that I have to take a moment to discuss Typhoon Haiyan, or rather, Super Typhoon Haiyan, that hit the Philippines last week. First of all, just for clarification, a typhoon is the same thing as


No significant storms in sight

Weather forecast for week of Nov. 11, 2013

Last week’s forecast pretty much fell apart after the weekend, as a very strong area of arctic high pressure dropped southeastward, bringing the coldest air of the season to all areas. Luckily this area of high pressure moved through quickly, resulting in only a day or two of cold air. This forecast period looks to

Severe versus air mass thunderstorms

So far in our look at severe thunderstorms we’ve looked at the three main severe weather threats: heavy rain, hail, and wind or tornadoes. What we haven’t discussed or looked at is why do some thunderstorms become severe while others do not, and how can you tell if a thunderstorm moving towards you is going


Southern ridge pattern developing

Southern ridge pattern developing

Weekly weather forecast for July 15, 2013

The only thing that prevented us from climbing into the low 30s last week was the extra cloud sticking around, along with the fairly high humidities. For this forecast period it looks like summer wants to stick around. The ridge of high pressure that has been periodically building and weakening over the western U.S. is

Professional storm chasers follow wild Prairie weather

Professional storm chasers follow wild Prairie weather

Manitobans battered by severe summer storms aren’t the only ones watching to see what the heavens deliver next — storm chasers are also keeping a close eye on the province’s wild weather. “Storm chasing is not nearly as prevalent as it is down here, but there are more and more storm chasers in the Canadian



Expect more heavy summer rainfalls

When we think about severe summer weather we almost always think of damaging winds and hail. While these two features can result in severe damage, the kind of damage is often highly localized. One thing about severe summer weather that we tend not to think about, until it creeps up on us, is heavy or