Vehicles leave Yellowknife on Aug. 16, 2023 on the only highway in or out of the city after a state of emergency was declared due to the proximity of wildfire. (Photo: Reuters/Pat Kane)

Prairie Forecast: Upper ridge to bring the heat

Issued Aug. 16, covering Aug. 16-23

After going through a couple of weeks of tough forecasting, with little agreement among the weather models, this forecast period is looking a little more stable with the two main weather models for our region in basic agreement. We start off this forecast with a low over Manitoba that is quickly moving east. To the

(Alicat/iStock/Getty Images)

Prairie Forecast Update: Low to chug through mid-week

Issued Aug. 13, covering Aug. 13-16

The weather models seem to have come to an agreement on the area of low pressure forecasted to come in off the Pacific around mid-week. It looks like the energy from this system will quickly spin up an area of low pressure over north-central Alberta on Tuesday. The low will then quickly deepen and track


A smoke column rises from a wildfire on May 4, 2023 near Lodgepole, Alta., about 30 km southwest of Drayton Valley. (Photo: Alberta Wildfire handout via Reuters)

Canada’s record-setting wildfires could persist for rest of ‘marathon’ summer

Country's fires account for over a quarter of world's carbon for 2023

Ottawa | Reuters — Record-setting wildfires in Canada could potentially continue burning at an abnormally high rate for several more weeks, though the spread of blazes is likely to start diminishing in September, according to federal projections released on Friday. Forest fires have engulfed parts of nearly all 13 Canadian provinces and territories this year,

Weather extremes trim EU 2023-24 grain prospects

Weather extremes trim EU 2023-24 grain prospects

European weather has swung wildly

Reuters – Europe’s grain crop is expected to drop due to wildly ranging growing conditions, according to an Aug. 2 report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service post in Madrid, Spain. The agency reported that the bloc has suffered “weather conditions ranging from excessive heat to cooler-than-average temperatures, and from drought to


Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Drought Monitor map at July 31, 2023. (AAFC)

Prairie Forecast: Cooler and unsettled

Issued Aug. 9, covering Aug. 9 to 16

First off, I must apologize for not producing an update to the last forecast; I had the opportunity to do some backwoods camping, which meant I was off the grid for about five days. I’m back now, and from the weather model runs I’ve been able to check out, this forecast period is going to

North Dakota spring wheat yield down as drought widens

North Dakota spring wheat yield down as drought widens

Reuters – Spring wheat yields in North Dakota, the U.S.’s top-producing state, will exceed the five-year average but fall short of last year as farmers grapple with an expanding drought, scouts on an annual crop tour said July 25. The Wheat Quality Council tour predicted an average yield of 47.4 bushels per acre, compared to


Heat waves: sunshine and sinking air

Temperatures above 30 C have cropped up a lot this year, but what makes up an official heat wave?

Let’s continue our look at severe summer weather by examining heat waves. While we have seen recent hot weather, it pales in comparison to some of the extreme heat reported in other parts of our planet this July. Heat waves have enveloped large portions of the Northern Hemisphere, bringing record-breaking heat to parts of North

Dry weather slashes EU bumper crop expectations

Reuters – The European Union’s crop monitoring service further reduced its yield forecasts July 24 for this year’s harvest, citing dry and hot weather. Crop prospects in the bloc have taken on extra significance since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a major wheat, corn and sunflower exporter, has disrupted Black Sea exports and raised uncertainty over


Hot weather is posing a threat to corn crops in the U.S.  Photo: Thinkstock

Prairie forecast: Warm-hot start then slow cooldown

Issued August 2, covering August 2 to 9

The weather models have been doing a good job with the overall weather picture over the last several weeks, despite a fairly unsettled, tough-to-figure-out weather pattern. In this next forecast period, it will again be tough to figure out some of the finer details as our region experiences weak highs, lows, and even the possibility

As technology and research around tornado formation improves, the hope is that it will lead to better warnings.

How do we think tornadoes form?

Exploring the theories behind how a thunderstorm turns into a tornado threat

As we near the mid-point of summer, and even though it hasn’t felt like it lately, we are heading into peak thunderstorm season. Over the last month or so, I have discussed atmospheric stability and instability and how this can lead to the development of thunderstorms. We investigated what it takes for a regular thunderstorm