Slight Chance Of Storms In Manitoba

Quiet Pattern Continues - Fishing Weather!

A very marginal chance of storms today in some areas as the quiet pattern continues into next week with no real hot temperatures in play. Late last night we caught some lightning to the north of Regina, here is a couple video clips, same strike, two cameras:

Today's Outlook Map:

Today's Outlook Map - Pattern Continues Along Foothills

This pattern of small but strong storms along the southern Alberta foothills continues today, venturing a bit further south east towards the US border. The same scenario tomorrow but further north west into the central Alberta foothills, then it begins to move off on Friday into western Saskatchewan.

Super Structure Storm Surprises

UPDATE: Added the full version video of the storm hitting and camera smashing to the ground:

This is the final set of photos taken by the Canon S3 as it took a tumble on the concrete pavement as the gust front flipped over the tripod. I was also trying to shoot with my BlackBerry Playbook at the time and caught video of the whole thing. This camera has done some amazing work and has been through it all. I am amazed it has lasted this long. Sadly the video footage it was taking can not be recovered but the camera can be replaced.

More video clips:

Brief Storm Possible To Graze Regina By Sundown

A heavy rain and intense lightning storm hit the city of Saskatoon a few hours ago and is slowly moving towards Regina at this time. If it hold together it may just catch the north end, spread out or nothing at all. Currently this small but powerful cell looks like a mini gust front with high tops, suggesting it will keep its strength by sundown near Regina where it should quickly dissipate.

Here is a look at the echo tops screen grab:

And today's outlook map:

Temporary Site Crash / Front Page News / Today's Risk Map

Today our little blog Canadian Prairie Storms made it to the front page of the Leader Post and soon after became unavailable until late this afternoon as restoration methods had to be implemented. As a result a new page was created on Facebook as a backup, this page will be maintained as time permits but feel free to give it a like and fill it with comments and reports. 

In today's weather news, Calgary has been issued a severe thunderstorm warning and tornado watch with many areas along the southern Alberta foothills in the risk zone. This activity is expected to continue all week until storms move into Saskatchewan next Sunday according to long term models. We will update as storms develop and models change. Here is today's outlook map:

Updated Risk Map - Very Slim Chance Of Storms

Outlook For Sunday

Large supercell thunderstorms will begin early in the day in south central Saskatchewan and gain strength with day time heating and then move towards south east Saskatchewan and enter south west Manitoba by evening.

Today's Outlook Map / Week In Review

Here is today's severe weather outlook risk map:

It has been a very unexpectedly busy past three days and I feel it is time to take a look back at what happened this week. Forecast models really dipped in energy potential on Wednesday which is why the forecasters were overly excited on Monday and fairly unconcerned with the rest of the week. Let's start with this:

'Oklahoma-style' t-storms for SK today. Likely will be the most violent storms in N. America, possibly the world #skstorm
— Chris Scott (@ChrisScottWx) July 15, 2013

The Weather Network's Chief Meteorologist Chris Scott started a media frenzy and resulting backlash on social media when nothing hit the city of Regina. 

I am HOWLING RT @mrcurrentevents: Never forget the storm of July 15 2013. We WILL rebuild.. #skstorm #sask #yxe pic.twitter.com/sqgrYm7App
— UsedRegina (@usedregina) July 15, 2013

Meanwhile, just south of the city between 6 and 8 tornado touch downs were reported with golf ball size hail:

@SeanSchoferTVN @reedtimmerTVN @GlobalRegina @OwenParker4 #FunnelCloud near #Rouleau (July 15) #skstorm #skwx pic.twitter.com/oopshnAzN9
— Ryan Crouse (@ryancrouse1) July 19, 2013

We've mapped out Environment Canada's July 15 storm summary (yesterday's hail, heavy rain & tornado reports) for SK: pic.twitter.com/GPNoyNareV
— CBC Weather Centre (@CBCWeather) July 16, 2013

Here is a good link with more photos and details from Monday's severe weather outbreak:
Canada.com Saskatchewan Storm Summary
...with Here’s Environment Canada’s full breakdown of reports:

HEARNE ................... 3:30 PM ..... QUARTER SIZE HAIL
NEAR SOUTHEY ............. 3:30 PM ..... 50 MM RAIN
ROULEAU .................. 3:50 PM ..... GOLF BALL HAIL
SOUTHEY .................. 3:50 PM ..... LOONIE TO GOLF BALL HAIL
CUPAR .................... 4:10 PM ..... 55 MM RAIN, QUARTER HAIL
NEAR GRAY ................ 4:40 PM ..... RAIN-WRAPPED TORNADO
NEAR HAGUE ............... 4:50 PM ..... PROBABLE TORNADO
NEAR KRONAU .............. 4:55 PM ..... TORNADO
NEAR ROSTHERN ............ 5:00 PM ..... POSSIBLE TORNADO
SOUTHEAST OF REGINA ...... 6:00 PM ..... QUARTER SIZE HAIL
WEST OF YORKTON .......... 6:05 PM ..... TORNADO
SOUTHWEST OF YORKTON ..... 6:45 PM ..... TORNADO
NORTHWEST OF MILESTONE ... 7:00 PM ..... GOLF BALL HAIL
NEAR ITUNA ............... 7:05 PM ..... GOLF BALL HAIL
NORTH OF HUMBOLDT ........ 7:20 PM ..... PROBABLE TORNADO
PANGMAN .................. 7:50 PM ..... QUARTER SIZE HAIL

The next morning, ironically a storm free day for us, I ran into the Dominator 3 as I got my coffee at Starbucks:

Then on Wednesday with very little or no attention, a watch was issued for the Lethbridge, Alberta area and around 7pm they suddenly got slammed with 130km/hr winds. Possible the most incredible timelapse footage of any storm this year was shot by Cameron Prince on his first try at storm videos!
This same system then grazed the city of Regina on Thursday with similar but much weaker effects. Joshua Zorn was able to film the core as it went over Pilot Butte just east of Regina. This is also some really great footage as the storm was a dry gust front:

 ...and here is what I saw from Wascana Lake as you can faintly see the ground disturbance to the east: Then yesterday, the city of Regina got a direct hit between 2 and 3pm with tons of hail and strong winds and embedded lightning that took many trees and branches down throughout the city.. ..some enjoyed in more than others lol

Lots of hail in Regina. pic.twitter.com/0uJGRXynC0
— Scott Wilson (@scottwilson1973) July 19, 2013

#skstorm #YQR #hail pic.twitter.com/swFQLOeDrO
— Mare (@mareofthesea) July 19, 2013

Cleaning up after the hail. #skstorm pic.twitter.com/DznkF3EQEc
— Trina Crawford (@TCrawford2011) July 19, 2013

You can see the footage I have posted so far at the bottom of this page if you click "Older Posts". I'm going to work on the full version video later today after coffee and maybe some kayaking..

This is how you storm chase in two places at once!

Here is a quick 1 minute clip of the storm as it hit and people scramble to safety at the Saskatchewan Legislature

Skycam footage from between 2 and 2:30pm sped up at 21x speed.

Photos Of The Storm As It Rolled In #yqr #skstorm

Large Tree Uprooted, Another Split In Wascana Park #skstorm #yqr #damage

A strong but brief thunderstorm brought heavy rain and strong wind gusts with embedded intense lightning that uprooted one tree by the pool in Wascana Lake and split another in half.

Intense Lightning / Heavy Rain - Regina 2pm -3pm

A very small but powerful storm cell is entering the city as I type this.. going to try and intercept in the park again..

Gust Storm Splits The City (6 Photos 1 Video)

A strong thunderstorm quickly rolled around the city of Regina and fully split on radar with not a drop of rain but very strong wind gusts. To the east it seemed to intensify and a brown plume of dust became visible from my position at the south lookout on Wascana Lake. Boaters were caught as the storm was not very visible and only a watch had been issued, kayakers eventually came off the lake and dragon boater were seen struggling to go out on the lake after the wind died down slightly. Video of this and timelapse is now in process..

Today's Outlook Map

A very locally powerful storm yesterday over the city of Lethbridge, Alberta caused wide spread damage last evening. This was a situation that was not especially shown in the forecast models so just to be safe we are issuing a rather large area with a slight risk of severe thunderstorms. If things pan out like they did yesterday, there could be a lone cell over south eastern Saskatchewan that will becoming damaging with extremely high wind gusts. For most of the area, any storms will be general rain with some lightning. 

In south east Manitoba and north west Ontario, a very different picture, with supercell thunderstorms wide spread with large hail, risk of devastating tornadoes and heavy rain moving towards the Great Lakes region. Luckily that area is very sparsely populated but there could be large swaths of downed trees as has happened in previous years. 

Absolutely Incredible Timelapse Today From Lethbridge

Credit to Cameron Prince for this.

Major Storm Damage In Lethbridge Today

Environment Canada reports that they recorded wind gusts over 130km/hr in Lethbridge, Alberta this evening. Shortly after 8pm reported began to flood timelines on Facebook and Twitter with damage photos all around the city. Media and others had earlier called on forecasters and storm spotters to stop scaring people with warnings of possible severe weather and warnings and reports were as a result much slower and less specific. More on this tomorrow as another round of the usual summer storms continue into Saskatchewan and Manitoba.





Here is a collection of storm damage photos on twitter and CTV Lethbridge has a large collection of photos as well. Also a group on Facebook called Alberta Storm Chasers always has updated information on storms in that province.

That's WILD!!! RT @AZTECMASONRY: @CTVLethbridge crazy weather blew this trailer right over!! pic.twitter.com/jsfReKSgkX #Lethbridge #yql
— CTV Lethbridge (@CTVLethbridge) July 18, 2013

RT @lethtraffic: “@cher_herd: Centerline RV right beside my parents house. #yql #lethbridge @GlobalLeth @lethnews pic.twitter.com/a2MTlj25PI”
— Lethbridge News (@lethnews) July 18, 2013

tornado in lethbridge did some serious damage #byeroof #neighbour #yql #lethbridge #tornado pic.twitter.com/TG5X3fE5hv
— melissa (@melshep) July 18, 2013

Lethbridge "tornado", I'm calling it, destroyed my backyard play set #yql #scary #verysadforamelia pic.twitter.com/bmESTBj2Ij
— Andy Tyslau (@AndyTyslau) July 18, 2013

Thunderstorms Today Around Regina

Finally caught a lightning bolt! Huge storm to see from Douglas Park after I got off work, a bit late to the party but glad I jumped on the bike in time. There was a large number of people watching the storm on top of the hill. This footage is from between 5 and 6pm. The video is sped up 10x (quickly edited due to time constraints) and shows how volatile this system was today with dangerous looking areas in all directions but not a drop of rain and only a few strong wind gusts.

Tornadoes And Large Hail Today

Tornado Warning For Estevan - Tennis Ball Size Hail Reported

More hail from Ralph #skstorm pic.twitter.com/1QC67tDQUE
— Dean Altwasser (@DeanAlt) July 13, 2013

@weathernetwork wicked hail by Weyburn, SK 2:30pm #skstorm pic.twitter.com/uWMF3ws99Q
— Craig Hilts (@prairiestorm71) July 13, 2013

Storm Outlook Next Week - (Very Low Risk)

Over the next five days it will be all clear for most of Alberta and Saskatchewan except for Monday. Manitoba will get most of the action Saturday, save the extreme south east corner of Saskatchewan. No major systems are showing up on the forecast models next week besides what is heading into northern Ontario tonight. That major system is now long gone and will allow for a much more calm series of days with little or no storms. On Monday severe thunderstorms are expected for a large area of the prairies including southern Saskatchewan but these storms will be much more localized than the previous system with little danger of widespread damage.

Updates will be very limited due to work commitments next week.

It seems the peak system of the year has passed so please enjoy your summer and see you next year!

Side note: having a look at the moon phases, there could be one last round of major storms around the full moon phase (July 18 up cycle to July 22 down cycle to July 26) which could also explain why the cap held and baffled many storm chasers yesterday. Much respect to the pros, they got it right.

If I am wrong again, sorry for bothering, keep in mind this is all for science. Thank you for your input.

Jared Mysko

Today's Outlook Map

Moderate Risk

PSPC (Prairie Storm Prediction Centre) for the 2pm update states, "...THERE IS A MDT RISK OF SEVERE TSTMS OVER EAST CENTRAL SASKATCHEWAN AND WEST CENTRAL MB LATER TODAY INTO THIS EVENING. SLGT RISK OF SEVRE TSTMS OVER SERN SK/SWRN MB AS WELL AS WEST CENTRAL SK INTO EAST CENTRAL AB."  


Our map shows this area with a high risk included for later on in the evening near sunset. A lone supercell came down the number 1 highway early this morning and seems to have parked itself over the city of Regina. Severe thunderstorm watches have been issued for all of central east and west Saskatchewan and central Alberta. These should be extended south and east as the day progresses and this cell begins to organize itself. Please pay very close attention to watches and warnings in your area today and this evening. Updates to this blog will be limited to the #skstorm column on the right hand side of this page.

Echo Tops Radar 1:20pm

Echo Tops Radar 1:50pm

Weekend At The Lake [with music, photos and video]

Dramatic Storm Music To Start Your Day

Symphony No. 5: Allegro Con Brio - Beethoven 

Storm Cluster Timelapse (Weekend at the lake)

Photos of some storm clusters over Pratt Lake, Saskatchewan this past weekend: