Weather expert Daniel Bezte looks at heat waves and the climate factors that lead to extended periods of high heat in the Prairies.
Tag Archives Severe weather
Prairie heatwaves and upper highs
Sunshine and sinking air mean rising temperatures for the Prairies
The theories of tornado formation
Even with the very best of modern technology, the definitive answer hasn’t been found
Even with the very best of modern technology, we’re still not sure about the science behind how tornadoes form.
Thunderstorms and straight-line winds
Straight-line winds in thunderstorms can cause as much damage as a tornado
Straight-line winds in thunderstorms can cause as much damage as a tornado and are next on our weather school list exploring how and why severe summer weather forms.
Thursday night storm smashes Darlingford family’s farmyard
A swath of the province saw strong winds, rain and hail
Storm wreaks havoc on Manitoba family’s farm site.
Explaining severe summer weather: Hail
Understanding the science behind hail on the Canadian Prairies — how it forms and why it tends to be worse in some provinces
Hail is a common and potentially dangerous form of precipitation which is commonly seen during thunderstorms on the Canadian Prairies. But how does it happen?
The ingredients of a Prairie thunderstorm
Sometimes the smallest addition can make a storm truly memorable
Weather columnist Daniel Bezte says Manitoba farmers can expect many thunderstorms every summer, but only some become severe, if they have all the right ingredients.
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
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
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
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