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 

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!