Storm Season In Full Effect

Now that we are well into the month of June, "Storm Season" is fully underway on the Canadian Prairies. Almost daily severe thunderstorms in at least one of the three prairie provinces. Today is especially active as a short heat wave is being met with a sharp cold front in central Alberta. One tornado warning has already been issued in the area north west of Edmonton but has since expired. The risk for tornadoes increases into the evening with squall line likely forming over night which is expected to move into southern Saskatchewan on Sunday. Very large hail and damaging widespread winds are the main concern. Here is today's daily outlook map which we post here in the sidebar and on the Facebook Page

This will be updated again later tonight or early Sunday morning as the risk will shift mainly to south eastern Saskatchewan in the afternoon.

Here is the latest clip of the Echo Tops radar showing a massive complex of supercells with one in the south ringing in at over 50 thousand foot tops!

Oklahoma Storm Chaser Reed Timmer made the trip up north to try and catch a tornado and is posting on Facebook Live as you can see how it looks in this recorded video:


Many other chasers are out trying to get the best view and posting to the #abstorm hashtag on Twitter. You can see this live feed as well in the sidebar.

Sorry for the photo bombs twitter... but... wow. #abstorm https://t.co/DHvw6TRyrs pic.twitter.com/OjSvhS97l7

— Travis Farncombe (@tjfarncombe) June 9, 2018

Also, here is a couple videos I forgot to post on the blog from May 30th storm in Regina. Most posts on the blog will be dedicated to specific events so follow the Facebook page and my Twitter for the most recent posts.

Full 15 minute episode:


Highlight clip:


Thanks. Remember to have a Weather Radio tuned to "Alert" if in the risk areas.
Enjoy the weather and stay safe!

May 26, 2018 Storm Watching

Starting to get some storm action here in Saskatchewan, Over an hours worth of timelapse watching clouds form in the late afternoon. Caught a bit of lightning and mammatus in the evening. This storm system had some severe thunderstorm warnings in some areas but nothing major, yet. Our tornado season kicks off June 1st to August 5th, being the most active time of the year for severe thunderstorms and tornadoes on the Canadian Prairies.

Winter Storm Videos Compilation 2017-18

Winter 2017-2018 was a very cold one for the most part with very few precipitation events in Regina. The drought continued in south east Saskatchewan and temperatures stayed below the -20s C for extended periods of time through January and February. Extreme cold warnings were commonplace nearly every week of the deepest part of the season. What precipitation did happen though, had some real punch. Two events will stand out as memorable for this past season.

First, the heavy rain and flash freezing January 9th which caused massive power outages, people skating on the streets, extreme danger on the roads, injuries that caused huge wait times at the hospitals and medical centres, and an epic amount of road salt and sand to drive up cleaning bills for the rest of the season.

Here is a playlist of videos from YouTube of the Flash Freeze event:


Besides a few light snow showers here and there, once March arrived a Colorado Low came in and changed everything! The week before it hit, there was nothing but dusty 1 cm deep snow off to the sides and completely dry roads and walk ways. It began slowly on Saturday, March 3 with a couple cm accumulated, then about 5 more on Sunday. A lot of people thought that it was done but in fact the snow was just gaining momentum and about to begin a major assault on the roads and sidewalks. This was "miracle moisture" for suffering farmers who feared the drought was only getting worse. 15 cm dumped on the city overnight Sunday and by Monday at noon we had 20 cm on the ground.

Another huge wave hit that afternoon, bringing the total past 30 cm. Monday evening the snow kept falling heavy, raising the total past 40 cm on my measuring stick. The final flakes overnight settled the accumulated total to about 43 cm on my rooftop deck.

Here is a compilation of videos from this epic and historic winter storm:


Final measuring stick readings, 42 cm / 13 cm on the ledge:

Here is a compilation of all storm videos from this past winter season:

First snowfall of the season! - November 1, 2017

Significant snow fell overnight in Regina and continues to accumulate. Up to 10 cm is expected in southern Saskatchewan by the end of the week. Much higher amounts in western Saskatchewan as areas in the central prairies could see well over a foot or 30 cm by the weekend. Stay tuned for updates on Canadian Prairie Storm Facebook Page and be sure to check the highway hotline before trying out the highways. RCMP are already reporting "very treacherous conditions".

https://www.facebook.com/CanadianPrairieStorms/

https://hotline.gov.sk.ca/map.html

Strange Series Of Extreme Events

As summer storm season shifts to the calm warm days of "Second Summer in September", here in Saskatchewan the weather is becoming uneventful and maybe even a little bit boring. Elsewhere it seems, extreme events have become the norm just in this past week. Let's go back a couple weeks when the first unusual event occurred on a large scale.

Monday, August 21, 2017
Solar Eclipse Crosses North America

Video from CNN on YouTube:
"The first solar eclipse to travel across the United States in 99 years began in Oregon and ended in South Carolina."



Monday, August 28, 2017
Hurricane Harvey Sits Over Houston Dropping Record Rains

From Twitter:

Here's a picture that gives some perspective on how bad the floodwaters are in Houston. pic.twitter.com/2p1NQcC6B0

— Jay Kuo (@nycjayjay) August 28, 2017

Saturday, September 2, 2017
Nuclear Explosion Triggered 6.3m Earthquake In North Korea

From EuroNews on YouTube:
"Japan says the two shallow earthquakes which shook North Korea on Sunday were a nuclear explosion, following the sixth atomic test by Pyongyang since 2006."



Monday, September 4, 2017
Meteor and Fireball in British Columbia

From YouTube:


Wednesday, September 6, 2017
Hurricane Irma Begins To Destroy Islands

From YouTube:
Hurricane Irma became one of the most powerful storms ever as a category 5 with sustained surface winds of 160 knots/184mph/296km/hr.


Thursday, September 7, 2017
Once In A Decade Solar Storm

From SpaceWeather.com:
"A CME has just hit Earth's magnetic field (Sept.7th at ~2300 UT). This is the debris from Wednesday's decade-class X9 solar flare. It arrived earlier than expected, confirming that the storm cloud is both fast and potent."

Friday, September 8, 2017
Strongest Earthquake (8.1m) Since 1985 Hits Mexico

From YouTube:
Just off the south west coast of the Mexican state of Chiapas late Friday night, the death toll is already rising beyond 50 according to some reports.


If all that wasn't enough, forecast models have now confirmed the worst case scenario for the track of Hurricane Irma as it gathers strength over the hottest waters off the northern coast of Cuba. It is expected to make a direct hit on the entire state of Florida this weekend.

Links:
Current Earthquake map from USGS

Latest Updates from the National Hurricane Center