File photo of a Saskatchewan grid road in winter. (Daxus/iStock/Getty Images)

Prairie forecast: More typical mid-winter weather

Issued Jan. 17, covering Jan. 17 to 24

For this forecast period it looks like it'll simply be winter--not bone chilling cold, but not springtime warm. The general pattern that appears to be developing across the prairies is showing warm air trying to push northeastwards out of the western U.S., but with a northwesterly flow across the prairies, it looks like there will be a parade of cold, arctic high-pressure systems dropping southeastwards every few of days. The question is, just how far north will the warm air push, or for far south will the arctic air push?

A scene from the show floor at Ag Days 2020.

Ag Days kicks off

Organizers shrug off the cold weather

The massive cold air mass that parked itself over much of North America hasn’t cooled the spirits of the organizers of this year’s Manitoba Ag Days farm show in Brandon. Ag Days General Manager Kristen Phillips said it’s always great when those long months of planning come together. “It’s absolutely wonderful to see the show



A thick layer of smoke emanates from forest fires on the west side of Okanagan Lake.

Top weather stories of 2023

Mother Nature wasn’t kind to Canada weather-wise over the past 12 months

The degree of devastation across Canada in 2023 was difficult to comprehend. It was not a pretty picture, given countless scenes of charred landscapes, scorched shells of former homes, and debris piles as evidence of powerful tempests, dried out riverbeds, and fields underwater as far as you could see. Beautiful sunrises and sunsets belied the


(Keeperofthezoo/iStock/Getty Images)

Prairie forecast: Winter temperatures moving in

Issued Jan. 03, covering: Jan. 3 – 10

Looking at this forecast period, the best way I can describe it is that we will be seeing a slow slide into more seasonal temperatures. The persistent upper-level ridging that brought warm--and record warm temperatures--to much of the prairies in December has broken down. The weather models are showing a trough of low pressure developing over the west coast over the next seven days.

Photo: Environment and Climate Change Canada

Warmer winter likely across Canada

High probability of warm spring to follow, long-range forecast shows

Warmer than normal temperatures are expected across all of Canada through the winter months, with average precipitation for most of the agricultural areas of the Prairies, according to the latest long-range seasonal forecast from Environment and Climate Change Canada, released Dec. 31.


A house in Oak River had its siding shredded during an early-season thunderstorm.

Manitoba’s hail numbers in for 2023

Although worse than recent years, MASC says 2023 claim numbers were not disastrous

Manitoba’s final hail claim count was above the five-year average, but it’s not as serious as expected earlier this year. In mid-December, the Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation reported 1,587 payable claims worth about $33.6 million for the 2023 season. Why it matters: Early hail concerns tapered off as the season ticked over into late summer. That number

Warm weather dominated 2023 headlines

Part 1 of our look back on the weather of 2023

For those of you who have been reading my articles over the years, you probably know that the end of the December and the beginning of January means it’s time to reflect on the previous year’s weather. I like to start off with a global view and then zoom in to Canada and then, finally,



“While the fall report shows our rivers have the capacity to receive a normal amount of spring runoff, this will depend on precipitation and snowmelt rate.” – Lisa Naylor.

Most of Manitoba drier than normal heading into winter

Dry summer and fall leaves soil moisture low and fall precipitation hasn’t been enough

MarketsFarm – Manitoba received normal to below normal precipitation during November and most of the province’s agricultural areas are faced with drier than normal conditions. That’s according to the fall conditions report issued by Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation on Dec. 14. Much of November’s snow melted and added some moisture to the soil, stated the