A snowmobile track cuts between deep drifts at Minnedosa Lake after a spring snow storm.

Spring can bring big snow falls

It’s the annual mixing of warm and cold air that kicks these parties off

Spring snowstorms are not uncommon, as March and April have recorded some of the biggest snowstorms in the Prairies.



This map shows parts of the Prairies with snow cover (blue line and area with light blue shading) as of Nov. 13, and the average for the same time of the year (red line and light red shading). Most of the Prairies would normally have snow cover, but this year only the far northern Prairies have snow.

The surprising snowfall data

We might be buried in snow now, but by the numbers, big snow events on the Prairies are less common than you think

It might sound hard to hear after snowstorms swept through the province this week, but according to statistical data, big snow events are relatively rare on the Prairies

Waiting on the spring snowmelt

Truly warm temperatures only rarely appear while there’s snow on the ground

A topic was brought to my attention by a reader in Manitoba, my home province. The western part of the province has unique topography that affects weather in that region. In Manitoba, we call these features Riding and Duck Mountains, but they are more like hills. Often when I discuss weather in what I refer

How heat and snow measured up in February

After little snow cover all winter, the snowpack is beginning to accumulate as we enter spring

I have been accused of it, but I am not a weather sorcerer! Yes, I talked about the history of big spring snowstorms, and delayed talk about lack of snow cover this winter, but that doesn’t mean I had anything to do with the snowy conditions across much of the Prairies in recent weeks. The


How spring snowstorms on the Prairies stack up

The history of spring snowfalls

I promised to look at snow cover across the Prairies for the Feb. 29 issue of the Co-operator, but life and a cold bug got in the way. It can be tough to concentrate, especially when digging into numbers, when your head is aching and you can’t breathe through your nose. That article will have

Wild weather ride in January

Temperature records were shattered across the Prairies at the end of the month

If January was any indication of what weather will be like for the rest of 2024, it is going to be one wild year. What a month it was! It started off warm. Then winter showed up in full force, bringing record-breaking cold, especially over the western half of the Prairies. Luckily it didn’t last

What’s the ideal Christmas weather?

Will there be snow on the ground or a brown holiday?

Every few years I like to revisit the topic of perfect Christmas holiday weather. Each year that I have looked at this, December has started out warm and dry with little snow cover across large parts of the southern Prairies. And what do we see this year? A warm start to December with below average


A warm start to winter

Most models agree it will be warmer than usual, with some variations

It is time once again to look at last month’s weather and peer ahead to the latest long-range forecasts. Fall is now officially over and we are beginning the meteorological winter, so let’s see how the fall weather numbers added up. Alberta once again had a very warm month compared to the long-term average. The

A file photo of the aftermath of freezing rain in Montreal on April 6. (David Himbert photo/Hans Lucas via Reuters Connect)

Weather Network predicts mild winter, with caveats

Colder scenario expected for East

MarketsFarm — Strong El Niño conditions that have developed in the Pacific Ocean would typically lead to a milder winter across Canada — but other factors this year could challenge that outlook, according to the winter forecast from The Weather Network, released Wednesday. The winter forecast features a mild start to the season, with a