Many industry sectors depend on the existing power infrastructure and operate without redundancy that could keep them running when the power goes out.

Blizzards are inescapable but their costs aren’t always

The most expensive winter storm damage is largely preventable

Winter storms can easily become billion-dollar disasters as the snow piles up on highways and, in the most extreme examples, collapses roofs and power lines. Yet while cancelled flights and business interruptions can’t be avoided, what turns a snowstorm into a disaster often can be. I have worked for three decades on engineering strategies to

A funnel cloud all by itself is not considered a tornado.

Severe summer weather: tornadoes

Funnel clouds are usually weak, short-lived and rarely strong enough to touch down

For most people, the word tornado brings feelings of awe and even a little fear. Unless you have already witnessed a tornado first-hand, many who are interested in weather secretly wish they could safely experience its awesome beauty and power. Worldwide, Canada is second only to the United States in the number of tornadoes occurring


Certain conditions can take a storm to the next level. photo: Xander/istock/getty images

Back to our look at severe summer weather

What makes a garden-variety thunderstorm an event to truly remember?

In the last issue we discussed humidity and dew point, and no, I did not realize at the time we were going to see some ridiculously high dew points during the short-lived heat wave that hit us on June 19. If you recall the article, life-threatening dew points have begun to occur in some subtropical

“Funnel clouds are generally very weak and short-lived and will rarely become strong enough or last long enough to touch down.”

Is that a cold air funnel or a tornado?

Super cell thunderstorms, from which tornadoes usually develop, are tough to predict

In this article, we continue our look at severe thunderstorms, and specifically the most deadly part: tornadoes. What are tornadoes and how do they form? A classic definition of a tornado is a violently rotating column of air that extends from a thunderstorm to the ground, and which may or may not be visible as


Tornado with dark storm clouds

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

More on severe summer weather: Hail

More on severe summer weather: Hail

You don't necessarily need a really tall thunderstorm to get the really big hailstones

Time to continue our series of articles on different types of severe summer weather. I like to re-examine these topics every year or two due to the importance of understanding the different types of severe weather, and also because most people find this aspect of weather so fascinating. In this issue we are going to


Severe summer weather and tornadoes, Part 1

Severe summer weather and tornadoes, Part 1

The skies offer some telltale signs that a severe storm may be en route

So far in our look at severe summer weather, and in particular thunderstorms, we have looked at how thunderstorms form, how they can grow into severe thunderstorms, and finally, how hail is produced. Next up on the severe thunderstorm list is tornadoes! Before we begin our look at tornadoes, though, I think we have to

Severe versus air mass thunderstorms

Storms that don’t rotate or have any way to vent rising air rarely last long

A couple of weeks ago we talked about what it takes to form severe thunderstorms: heat, humidity, lift, and some way to vent the air at the top of the storm. This week we’ll take a look at what it takes to make a severe thunderstorm and turn it into a thunderstorm that you just


Early morning Oct. 22, 2016 in St. Andrews north of Winnipeg, Man.

Top five regional weather stories of 2016

Last fall’s heat wave was amazing in its duration — and by how much it broke records

Before we dive into this week’s topic I think I need to change my weather outlook for March. Currently, the medium-range weather models show cooler weather sticking around until at least the third week of March. Even if we see a dramatic warmup during the last week of the month, it will not be enough

A lot of severe summer weather in 2016

A lot of severe summer weather in 2016

Manitoba, in an unusual twist, topped Alberta for the number of severe hail events in 2016

With the beginning of a new year comes the usual list of top 10 things about the previous year, and in the category of weather, this really appears to be the case. There are the top 10 Prairie weather stories, top 10 Canadian weather stories, and the top 10 world weather stories, which often tend