Destructive Tornadic Storms - July 5, 2017

The day started off very early with morning convection just north of Regina which brought intense lightning and pea size hail to the area from 5:30am to 7am. I managed to snap a few photos and videos as it passed by.

This was as the sun rose at 5:30am looking north east from downtown Regina:

It actually began to gain strength at 6am when I started shooting this video from my deck:

After a couple hours and a report of pea size hail east of the city, it died out. Then we waited with great anticipation for what was to become the main event later in the afternoon. At 4:33pm clouds began to twirl and spin by, showing the incredible instability that was in the atmosphere mixing with extremely high CAPEs (Convective Available Potential Energy). This video was shot off my back deck (time-lapse 32x speed), facing south east:

Echo Tops radar began to show the progression of the birth of tornadic supercells at 5:50pm from Dauphin, Manitoba to Carlyle, Saskatchewan:

Within only a few minutes, what was only a few blips on radar suddenly became severe warned thunderstorms. Image from 6:20pm:

The first of many tornado warnings was issued near the radar site of Foxwarren, Manitoba:

"8:18 PM CDT Wednesday 05 July 2017

Tornado warning in effect for: Prairie View Mun. incl. Bird Tail Creek Res. R.M. of Yellowhead incl. Shoal Lake and Elphinstone Rossburn Mun. incl. Waywayseecappo Res.

.."

Wow, check out the radar signature on this thing using Tilt 3 from Foxwarren! #mbstorm pic.twitter.com/Pk6dsrdmsg

— Dayna Vettese (@daynavettese) July 6, 2017

By 7:30pm SST (8:30 CDT or Manitoba Time) echo tops indicated a fully formed tornadic supercell covering the area along the southern Manitoba and Saskatchewan border:

By 8:24pm SST (9:24 CDT) there were 4 active tornado warnings in Manitoba and 1 in Saskatchewan. The one in Saskatchewan would prove to be the main producer on the extreme south west corner of the supercell. Greg Johnson tweeted out this photo at 8:57pm SST (9:57 CDT):

This tornado was spotted just a few minutes ago at Alida, SK main street. Photo by Debbie Fraser @weathernetwork pic.twitter.com/xhSLajYEVe

— Greg Johnson (@TornadoGreg) July 6, 2017

Later in the evening and the next morning reports rolled in with hail the size of baseballs and damage to a house near Alida, Saskatchewan:

Baseball sized hail west of Alida Saskatchewan at 8:30 pm. Picture by Alysia Lea. #skstorm pic.twitter.com/pgiOAUr7Jr

— Prairie Storm Report (@Prairie__WX) July 6, 2017

Taken in Moosomin, SK. July 5th. #skstorm pic.twitter.com/HKrvG4dzQH

— Misheyla Iwasiuk (@MisheylaIwasiuk) July 6, 2017

Tornado damaged house near Alida, #Sask. Luckily family was safely in basement. More: https://t.co/LhMtUuDTek#SKstorm #YQR pic.twitter.com/Hk43ltoSMd

— Tiffany Lizée (@TiffanyGlobal) July 6, 2017

Video of tornado near Alida, Sk #skstorm at about 8:40pm sent to us via Emily Beers pic.twitter.com/j67d2JJDF9

— Prairie StormChasers (@PrairieChasers) July 6, 2017

#Viral #Weather Video of the Day: This funnel cloud (or tornado, if it touched down) was sighted near Alida, Saskatchewan, Canada Wednesday: pic.twitter.com/UhJOZpkbEW

— AccuWeather (@accuweather) July 6, 2017

Finally, Dan Lindsey and Atmospheric Scientist from NOAA/NESDIS tweeted out an incredible image from the newly launched GOES16 Satellite, dubbed as the future of weather observation and forecasting. This is the new high resolution animated satellite image of tornadic supercell over southern Manitoba and Saskatchewan:

Formation of strong storms in southern #Canada via #GOES16 1-min VIS - #mbstorm - data preliminary and non-operational pic.twitter.com/nXVryMLRua

— Dan Lindsey (@DanLindsey77) July 6, 2017

Extreme Heat Wave - Moderate Risk

July 3, 2017 Severe Weather Outlook Map #ModerateRisk #skstorm #SlightRisk #abstorm #mbstorm Strong early morning thunderstorms in north-western Saskatchewan are expected to expand and intensify south-eastward this afternoon and evening. Very large hail up to 4cm in diameter with damaging wind gusts will be the main feature to watch. Flash flooding, very intense lightning as well as a chance of tornadoes will also be a concern to be prepared for. If tornadoes form, they may become strong with very organized right turning storm cells. Here is the outlook map and current lightning as of 9:30am:

Heat warnings continue in Alberta and are expected to expand into Saskatchewan later this week. High temperatures forecast for today:
Medicine Hat 33C
Lethbridge 30C
Swift Current 32C
Regina 32C
Saskatoon 30C
By the end of the week those temperatures will feel cool compared to what is forecast.
Saturday forecast highs:
Medicine Hat 38C
Lethbridge 36C
Swift Current 36C
Regina 34C
Saskatoon 34C

Facebook Plugin Added

You can now see our Facebook Page without leaving the blog. This may be useful for reading tweets in the sidebar and keeping up with discussion on Facebook during busy storm days. This is just in the development stage at the moment but a new layout and dedicated page for this may be created in the near future. For now, bookmark this page and test it out. The current layout is most ideal for viewing on large screen (TV or computer monitor). Feedback is always encouraged and most appreciated. Please use the Facebook page for all comments and suggestions. Thank you.

Early Morning Storm Front with Pink Shelf and Roll Cloud

5:04 am, June 9, 2017 - A powerful nocturnal thunderstorm arrived in Regina, bringing a pink shelf and 3 sets of roll clouds. The forecast verified and I luckily woke up just in time to chase it by mountain bike only a few blocks from home. I quickly snapped a few photos in front of the Shoppers Drug Mart and then raced down to the shores of Wascana Lake. Quickly realizing time was running out, I manages one decent photo and headed back. A few more photos and an attempted timelapse did not work out as well since it got dark fast but I did see a couple of intense CG lightning strikes right downtown. After posting photos on Twitter, the Internet took over. I made a Twitter "Moment" to recap the excitement here:

https://twitter.com/i/moments/873626464800849920

Photo prints are now available on 500px:

https://500px.com/photo/215432355/early-morning-shelf-cloud-by-jared-mysko

Videos from YouTube:

Photos:

Wascana Lake

Second Wave

Tornado at Three Hills, Alberta - June 2, 2017 - Time Lapse

Social media exploded with activity just after 5pm Alberta time today as this tornado was spotted near Three Hills, north east of Calgary. Earlier in the day, a major hail storm hit Saskatoon and most of southern Manitoba was breaking day time high temps with a growing supercell size thunderstorm that is still sweeping across that province. Storm season is fully underway now and it is expected to be a busy one with already multi-day events becoming the norm. Next big system could hit Monday in BC/Alberta and Saskatchewan on Tuesday. Stay tuned for more updates and be sure to follow us on Facebook where posts will be most frequent.

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

Earlier today in Saskatoon via Ryan Kayseas

Saskatchewan/Manitoba Windy Today, Monsoon For Bangladesh... [GLOBAL WIND MAPS]

It is a fairly windy day today in Saskatchewan and Manitoba and some garden type thunder showers may affect isolated areas this afternoon but nothing special.

Looking at the global wind map, the rest of North America is fairly calm. The strongest winds on Earth right now are all surrounding the continent of Antarctica, with maximum sustained winds of 89km/hr. In the Bay of Bengal, a Tropical Cyclone is forming into a Monsoon with current maximum sustained winds of 64km/hr. Landfall is expected for Bangladesh and Myanmar this week. The calmest continents on Earth right now are Africa and South America. Here are some snaps of the current wind maps around the globe as of 2pm SST for comparison.

Images via https://earth.nullschool.net/

Inland Cyclone Taking Shape (World Animated Wind Map)

Check out this incredible image of the "Inland Cyclone" as it begins to take shape.



See the current map with animated motion here:
Earth Wind Map

Remember to bookmark our data links page as this link and more are saved there.
Data Links

Inland Cyclone Hits Wednesday

Looking at the latest GFS forecast model, an area of southern Alberta between Calgary and Medicine Hat will be the focus of a major wind storm on Wednesday. Peak sustained winds of 73 knots or 135km/hr are showing up as of 0z or 6pm local time. Tree and property damage begin to occur at 80km/hr which is the criteria to issue wind warnings by Environment Canada. This will go way above and beyond that so widespread power outages and major widespread damage will occur across most of the province. A special weather statement is already in place for the region and expect warnings to be issued very early so people can prepare. To put this into perspective, 135km/hr winds would make this a category 1 hurricane but since it is on land, it is considered an "Inland Cyclone".

In the graphic above, the purple area is 135km/hr, the red covering most of southern and central Alberta is 90 to 130km/hr. The yellow, which will affect nearly every area from Alberta to Manitoba is 55 to 90km/hr sustained winds. It is expected to last a strong two to three days and weaken by Friday. Keep in mind, this is just a model estimate and strengths and locations may shift. Wind gusts will be stronger, heavy rain and a drop in temperature is also expected. Check your local forecast and read all statements and warnings closely.

Storm Season Gets Closer - May 6th?

Long term forecast models are showing a brief heat wave across Alberta and Saskatchewan, peaking May 6th with possible high temperatures of 26C. A cold front following off the mountains seems to suggest action within the supercell composite as well in west central Alberta. Certainly no guarantees on the timing, location, or intensity but something to note. Maybe just a glimmer of hope or maybe there will be some big storm action. By the looks of the map, the heat goes very far north into both Saskatchewan and Alberta. Remember, that is May 6th, a full 9 days out.

Image via http://weather.cod.edu/forecast/

Supercell Sunset and Lightning Strikes!

July 19, 2016

Regina, Saskatchewan



Between 8pm and 10pm I caught this incredible display of Saskatchewan's skies. A tornadic supercell to the north provided incredible sunset shots from near the RCMP Heritage Centre. Later, dry cg lightning strikes as seen from the south side of Wascana Lake.

Continuous Lightning 3am July 19, 2016

Just after the near zero visibility downpour, I caught some clips of continuous lightning flashes over downtown Regina after 3am. It was severe warned for about an hour but only produced the heavy rain for a few minutes, no hail or much wind. More of the same today and tonight!?

Southern Alberta! Be Prepared Tonight... #Supercells #Tornadoes #abstorm

The BIG storms are back today! Great heat energy combined with several days of seeding rains and a strong jet stream will fire off some huge storms in southern Alberta late in the day and run east overnight, maintaining power. Potential for very large hail and long track tornadoes exists but for the most part, it will be hot and sunny all day for most areas. We don't expect storms to "break the cap" until late in the day or maybe early evening but when they do, it will get vicious! Overnight, nocturnals will grow and cruise east into Saskatchewan setting up an even more powerful set up on Tuesday. Tuesday night into Wednesday the strongest of this system will show its teeth over eastern Saskatchewan and southern Manitoba. This is a system to take very seriously. Charge you devices and set your weather radio to ALERT. Here is the current risk map:

Regina North Storm Timelapse 3:39 to 4:11pm

Overnight and Saturday Morning Risk Map

Here is an updated risk map for overnight and into Saturday morning. Next update at 7am. Strong thunderstorms overnight will increase in scale and intensity by morning. Large hail, strong winds and risk of a tornado for south east Saskatchewan and south west Manitoba. Saturday evening, storms will become long track supercells with significant tornadoes and up to baseball size hail.

Moderate to High Risk Saturday and Sunday #MBSTORM #SKSTORM

Saturday and Sunday looks like it will be a moderate to high risk for severe weather in south east Saskatchewan and southern Manitoba. Baseball size hail with long lived supercells, significant tornadoes, dangerous lightning and damaging winds. Begin your tornado precautions NOW if in these areas, Yorkton south through Regina into Montana, east to the Red River Valley and all of south west Manitoba. Make your plans now and stay safe, monitor weather alerts closely and with full attention, charge weather radios, cell phones, and stock candles and food.
A detailed map will be outlined later tonight as models come in line with the forecast.
Here is the Saturday 6pm NAM Supercell Composite:

Sunday's GFS shows the Supercell Composite Index with soundings at 69.1 (translating to a PDS Tornado, "Particularly Dangerous Situation) just south of the Saskatchewan/Manitoba/North Dakota border intersection:

Tornado #5 of 2016 Confirmed

Video of Saskatchewan's 5th confirmed tornado of 2016 near Estevan yesterday July 7.

#abstorm More Small Hail In Large Amounts Today - #mbstorm Landspout Tornadoes

Copious amounts of moisture across the southern prairies today combined with high temperatures will combine to mix in a little of everything, or lot of little things. Yesterday reports out of Okatoks, Alberta showed huge amounts of small hail covering the highways as snow plows had to be called in for what is quite a normal major hail event for the foothills as summer storm season hits its prime time of late June (pictures and tweets below). More of the same is forecast for today with an added bonus of a possibility of landspout tornadoes in southern Manitoba, especially in the Red River Valley. Strong pulse storms will begin early in the day with some becoming near supercellular size in areas south and east of Red Deer Alberta. Southern Saskatchewan could also see some storms reach severe levels with hail and heavy rain as the main factors. Here is a forecast map as drawn up at 7am: This map may be updated as needed later this afternoon. Photos and tweets from yesterday's amazing hail storms in the southern Alberta foothills:

How about that hail yesterday?! #yyc #abstorm pic.twitter.com/9bO7zuUFao

— CJAY 92 (@CJAY92) June 29, 2016

Christmas in June? Snow plow clearing hail on HWY2 South of Calgary, Alberta #abstorm @PrairieChasers pic.twitter.com/ThPYMGNiPC

— Braydon Morisseau (@BraydonMoreSo) June 29, 2016

@JimCantore Snow? Nope, just a typical hail storm south of Calgary, Alberta! #abstorm pic.twitter.com/4TIl6K1JvJ

— Michael O'Connor (@Brown825O) June 29, 2016

NWT - Storms Way Up North Today [Risk Map]

Storms way up north today. North West Territories regions under an active severe thunderstorm watch. "1:14 PM MDT Monday 27 June 2016 Severe thunderstorm watch in effect for: Hay River Region including Enterprise Conditions are favourable for the development of severe thunderstorms this afternoon and evening along the Mackenzie River and southern Great Slave Lake from Fort Simpson to Hay River. Thunderstorms are beginning to develop over the region. The thunderstorms will strengthen this afternoon, with hail to the size of quarters and damaging winds in excess of 90 km/h possible. Thunderstorms will weaken this evening." Public Weather Alerts for Canada: http://weather.gc.ca/warnings/index_e.html Here is today's Risk Map:

"Several areas to watch this afternoon.." [1pm Updated Risk Map]

Several areas to watch this afternoon for the development of severe thunderstorms. Heavy rain, flash flooding, large hail and intense lightning are the main concerns today and into the overnight. In the north, slow moving storm cells may trigger flash flooding and large hail throughout the afternoon and into the evening. Further south, mainly in south western Manitoba, a strong cold front will trigger supercells late this afternoon and move east overnight. Extreme amounts of precipitation with large hail and possible microbursts could cause localized damaging wind gusts. Very intense lightning will also be of a concern, especially near game time in Winnipeg as the CFL season kicks off there tonight. Here is the latest detailed risk map for today:

Daytime Clearing - Nighttime Derecho [Saturday's Risk Map]

With clear skies expected across the prairies on Saturday, daytime heating will to lead to severe weather developing overnight and into Sunday. Strong damaging winds and heavy rain with flash flooding are the main concerns. The situation may in fact become a "derecho" type event.
(A derecho (pronounced similar to "deh-REY-cho" in English, or pronounced phonetically as " ") is a widespread, long-lived wind storm. Derechos are associated with bands of rapidly moving showers or thunderstorms variously known as bow echoes, squall lines, or quasi-linear convective systems.) Source: http://www.spc.noaa.gov/misc/AbtDerechos/derechofacts.htm
Along the international border, storms are expected to be strongest and move east at a minimum of 80km/hr. It will move so fast that the storm system will start up in Montana Saturday night and end up in northern Ontario on Sunday morning. Since these powerful type of systems can cause widespread damage with gusts of between 100 and 120km/hr, areas near or around the main storm system will be affected. Heavy rains with supercell thunderstorms will precede the damaging wind event. Tornadoes and large hail are also possible ahead of the squall line.
Here is the latest graphic from the GFS storm model showing midnight Saturday's Supercell Composite Index:
As you can see in this second snip, the strongest areas of strength move all the way into northern Ontario by noon Sunday, only 12 hours after the first graphic, seen above.

Our preliminary risk map, outlining the area of most concern for Saturday night:

Incredible Shelf and Lightning Photos and Video - June 14, 2016

Timelapse from 64x to 16x all footage shot between 9 and 10pm on June 14, 2016
Incredible Shelf Cloud with lightning over Wascana Lake and the Saskatchewan Legislature in Regina this evening just before 10pm
All footage by +Jared Mysko Storm & Wildlife Photographer Adventurer @jaredmysko

Today's Risk Map

Storms from Montana may drift into south eastern Saskatchewan and Manitoba and become marginally severe later this evening. Heavy rains in north central Alberta and general thunderstorms in northern Manitoba.

Today's Risk Map - "Extreme Instability"

Something to keep an eye on today... extreme instability along the international border should keep the risk of tornadoes about the Montana/North Dakota/Saskatchewan border intersection. The heavy rains are expected in south western Saskatchewan this morning and burn off with day time heating. Storms will fire up later this afternoon in Montana and remnants could drift into the southern most area of south east Saskatchewan. Risk of storms will be highest after 6pm for Estevan.

Today's Risk Map: #skstorm #mbstorm

Moderate Risk for areas along the southern Manitoba/Saskatchewan border. Chance of a tornado, large hail, damaging winds and intense lightning. Storms are expected to initiate rapidly around 3pm in south east Saskatchewan and strengthen as they move northeast into southern Manitoba. Peak intensity of these storms will be between 3pm and 8pm.

Storms Ramping Up Today, Look Out For Tomorrow!

Widespread severe thunderstorms late this afternoon, strengthening into the evening and then running all night. Hot and humid air today will give rise to strong thunderstorms including supercells with golfball size hail and wind gusts up to 100km/hr. On Thursday morning, the remnants of today's storms will quickly emerge in south east Saskatchewan and move into southern Manitoba with near maximum force. This will be a dangerous situation. Areas from Yorkton to Winnipeg should prepare now for extremely severe weather tomorrow afternoon and into the evening.

Moderate Risk Today: Calgary Area [Today's Risk Map]

Moderate Risk today for areas along the dry line between Sundre and High River, Alberta. This carries a risk of an isolated tornado to go along with supercell thunderstorms reaching strengths of 110km/hr wind gusts and hail up to 4cm or an inch and half. Take all Environment Canada warnings and watches seriously today and stay extra weather aware if you are in areas along the foothills of Alberta today.

Busy Week Ahead! Lets Start In Alberta...

High based supercell thunderstorms in west central Alberta today with risk of golf ball size hail and wind gusts up to 100km/hr. #abstorms This system is expected to gain strength as it comes off the foothills and cross the prairies this week. The risk moves south east tomorrow into southern Alberta and western Saskatchewan. Long term forecast models have shifted Wednesday and Thursday back and forth between Manitoba and southern Saskatchewan for an enhanced risk of extremely severe thunderstorms. We continue to monitor the situation closely but for sure something big is brewing for later in the week.

Updated Risk Map 6pm SST #skstorm

Rapid expansion northwards of severe thunderstorms in Montana at the moment. Updated risk map as of 6pm SST laying out a slight risk for mainly south west Saskatchewan. Latest storm forecast models suggest storms will track north towards the Kindersley/Rosetown region this evening and dissipate in strength.

First Big Storms Saturday In Saskatchewan #skstorm [Risk Map]

Strong to damaging winds will be the main issue over most of southern Saskatchewan on Saturday. Thunderstorms may become severe with intense lightning, strong wind gusts and brief downpours of rain. These storms are expected to emerge late in the afternoon in extreme south west Saskatchewan and slowly track east into the evening. A very marginal tornado risk does exist as well as a chance of hail reaching severe levels very briefly within the strongest cells. Next update, around 2pm.

Remember to follow Environment Canada watches and warnings for the latest and follow "Storm Tweets" as they come in via our blog: http://canadianprairiestorms.blogspot.ca/p/weather-data-links.html

Tips: Be prepared and have a safety plan in place. Have your weather radio, cell phone, cameras, candles and flash lights charge and at the ready.

Stay safe and enjoy the weather!

Today's Forecast Show #skstorm Saturday?

Here is the archive of our Severe Weather Forecast Show, originally aired via Facebook at 9:30pm Thursday, May 19, 2016

Severe Weather Forecast Show - May 18, 2016

Here is our second Severe Weather Forecast Show that was broadcast yesterday evening via Facebook. Looking at the coming storm situation this weekend and possibility of big storms in Saskatchewan on Saturday. The next show is scheduled for 9:30pm SST tonight for another update on what the forecast models are saying.

Be sure to like and bookmark us:
https://www.facebook.com/CanadianPrairieStorms/

Severe Weather Forecast Show [Interactive Presentation]

Here is the recorded video of our first live forecast show:

Extreme up-close video of tornado near Wray, CO! (May 7, 2016)

Video courtesy of @reedtimmertvn @accuweather

Filmed on May 7th, 2106 near Wray. Colorado

This looks to be tornado of the year so far but its still very early in the season.



Another perspective of this tornado can be seen via 360° video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCXp9Y5uPn4

Much Needed Rain!

Most of Alberta and Saskatchewan have been under extreme danger for forest and grass fires for the past few weeks and finally this week will bring some much needed rain. Thunder and lightning of the garden variety may accompany this system as it crosses the prairies. Significant precipitation will mostly be confined to the south as the north will remain under extreme danger of forest fires. Higher humanities may help in controlling these fires.

Here is our first map of the storm season: (graphic design format may be updated in the coming days)

Alberta Canada's First Tornado in 2016

Video of the first tornado on the year in Alberta yesterday, EF-0 confirmed by Environment Canada. 
via YouTube - Shawnah Moseley