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 

Storm Season Wrap Up/Outlook Map Slideshow

Re-posted from Facebook September 5th:

This is a slideshow of the progression of our "Severe Weather Outlook Map" this year. Starting out on May 31, you can see how we squared of the image for Facebook and massively updated the banner. June and July proved once again to be the peak months as August busted big time when a strong hurricane season became apparent. PASPC continued to make maps beyond July 31 until September 4 but it was mostly marginal storms. With extreme drought and heat in southern Saskatchewan, most of the action was confined to the Alberta foothills and central Saskatchewan this year. As another major hurricane begins to take over the news this week, we are reminded how we are all connected by the weather. Calm winds and southern heat are going to make for a second summer here in September as is often the case during very active hurricane years. Stay safe and enjoy the weather. For those who choose to move off the coast, away from the dangerous oceans, we have a lot of space and you are always welcome to move here or just visit. Thanks again for great year everyone!