Taber Tornado

Images posted on Twitter of the apparent tornado that touched down near Taber, Alberta around 8:30pm this evening:

Posted on Twitter by @CharleneMacKinn 

Posted on Twitter by @paulkingsmith 

Courtesy of Suzanne Peters

Storms will continue to remain strong throughout the night in southern Alberta and could form in south western Saskatchewan later over night or into Wednesday. The risk of tornadoes has decreased but the situation remains potentially dangerous. Watch the weather and stay safe!

Alberta/SW Saskatchewan

Large to very large hail possible in storms today. Check current forecast and heed all warnings.

Stay safe!

Montana Now

Hail in Montana is getting huge! Largest report now at 2.75 inches, blown out wind-shields and storms continue to head north towards Alberta/Sw Saskatchewan. Worst of it seems to be heading on a line towards Val Marie which could put it close to Moose Jaw much later, say between 11 and midnight. This monster storm is just now appearing on EC radar and is mighty impressive on echo tops. It should die out before making it to Regina but the forecast for tomorrow is ominous with thunderstorms and 80k/hr wind gusts at noon.

Busy Week Ahead

The next 7 days will be very busy for storms on the northern plains and Canadian Prairies. Alberta and Montana will see action on Monday, Saskatchewan on Tuesday and Manitoba/North Dakota on Wednesday. Conditions conducive to the formation of severe thunderstorms increase dramatically on Saturday as southern Saskatchewan and North Dakota could see the first major outbreak of the year for this region. Stay tuned to forecasts and heed all warnings. The 2012 storm season is now officially under way here as the southern plains start to calm. April to May is the busy time for storm in the southern plains while from June to August, the focus shifts north into states such as Montana, North and South Dakota, Minnesota and the prairie provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Also of note, the full moon has just reached its peak and statistics show that most catastrophes occur in the following 4 or 5 days after the full moon as its gravitational pull weakens and drops ocean tides. In other words, what goes up, must come down.

As always, stay safe and respect the weather.

Manitoba Today

Watches and warnings have been posted by Environment Canada for areas of south and central Manitoba this afternoon. Strong thunderstorm cells have popped up in a line from the lake country down to the city of Winnipeg. These storms have started out very discrete but pack a big punch.