Winnipeg, Sept. 7, 2023. (Dave Bedard photo)

Prairie Forecast: Summer trying to hang on

Issued Sept. 6, covering Sept. 6 to 13

Reading Time: 3 minutes The weather models seem to be in good agreement for this forecast period, with no strong storm systems expected to impact the Prairies, making for a fairly high-confidence forecast. This forecast period will start off with a generally west to southwesterly flow across the Prairies. A broad but weak area of low pressure is expected […] Read more

Durum plants on Aug. 28, 2023 near Acadia Valley, Alta., about 160 km north of Medicine Hat, stand shorter with fewer kernels than normal due to dry conditions. (Photo courtesy Darold Niwa/Handout via Reuters)

Prairie Forecast: Mostly sunny and warm

Issued Aug. 30, covering Aug. 30 to Sept. 6

Reading Time: 3 minutes It’s a straightforward forecast for this period as the general weather pattern looks to be pretty quiet. It starts with a large area of high pressure centred over the Great Lakes with a weak area of low pressure over Alberta. The Great Lakes high will put sunny skies and warm temperatures over much of Manitoba […] Read more


Prairie forecast: unsettled to start then clearing and warmer

Prairie forecast: unsettled to start then clearing and warmer

Issued Aug. 23, covering Aug. 23 to 30

Reading Time: 3 minutes Once again, the weather models are in good agreement so confidence in this forecast is fairly high. The only possible issue is that the different weather systems are rather weak which means timing of the systems can change easily. This forecast period starts off with two weak areas of low pressure, one over southern Manitoba, […] Read more

Floodwaters flow into Gower Gulch near Zabriskie Point, about 190 km west of Las Vegas, in California’s Death Valley National Park on Aug. 20, 2023. The U.S. National Park Service closed the park effective that afternoon due to moderate to heavy rainfall and flash flooding from Tropical Storm Hilary. (Death Valley National Park/National Park Service video screengrab via Facebook)

Prairie Forecast Update: Southern areas may get Hilary’s leftovers

Issued Aug. 20, covering Aug. 20-23

Reading Time: < 1 minute An interesting weather pattern is currently in place across western North America with Tropical Storm Hilary taking an unusual northerly track as it comes in off the Pacific Ocean south of California. Tropical storms or hurricanes in that region normally do one of two things: they either recurve back out into the Pacific, or move […] Read more


Vehicles leave Yellowknife on Aug. 16, 2023 on the only highway in or out of the city after a state of emergency was declared due to the proximity of wildfire. (Photo: Reuters/Pat Kane)

Prairie Forecast: Upper ridge to bring the heat

Issued Aug. 16, covering Aug. 16-23

Reading Time: 3 minutes After going through a couple of weeks of tough forecasting, with little agreement among the weather models, this forecast period is looking a little more stable with the two main weather models for our region in basic agreement. We start off this forecast with a low over Manitoba that is quickly moving east. To the […] Read more

(Alicat/iStock/Getty Images)

Prairie Forecast Update: Low to chug through mid-week

Issued Aug. 13, covering Aug. 13-16

Reading Time: < 1 minute The weather models seem to have come to an agreement on the area of low pressure forecasted to come in off the Pacific around mid-week. It looks like the energy from this system will quickly spin up an area of low pressure over north-central Alberta on Tuesday. The low will then quickly deepen and track […] Read more


Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Drought Monitor map at July 31, 2023. (AAFC)

Prairie Forecast: Cooler and unsettled

Issued Aug. 9, covering Aug. 9 to 16

Reading Time: 3 minutes First off, I must apologize for not producing an update to the last forecast; I had the opportunity to do some backwoods camping, which meant I was off the grid for about five days. I’m back now, and from the weather model runs I’ve been able to check out, this forecast period is going to […] Read more

Hot weather is posing a threat to corn crops in the U.S.  Photo: Thinkstock

Prairie forecast: Warm-hot start then slow cooldown

Issued August 2, covering August 2 to 9

Reading Time: 3 minutes The weather models have been doing a good job with the overall weather picture over the last several weeks, despite a fairly unsettled, tough-to-figure-out weather pattern. In this next forecast period, it will again be tough to figure out some of the finer details as our region experiences weak highs, lows, and even the possibility […] Read more


 Photo: Thinkstock

UPDATE prairie forecast: unsettled start as sub-arctic high builds in

Issued July 26, covers July 26 to August 2

Reading Time: 4 minutes Update: A low tracking through central prairies is a little weaker than expected. This will result in less precipitation with showers, thundershowers, and storms being less widespread. Another issue is the smoke which can be difficult to predict. In areas with smoke, we see cooler than expected daytime highs. An upper ridge that brought plenty […] Read more

 Photo: Thinkstock

Updated prairie forecast: unsettled start as sub-arctic high builds in

Issued July 26, covers July 26 to August 2

Reading Time: 4 minutes Update: A low tracking through central prairies is a little weaker than expected. This will result in less precipitation with showers, thundershowers, and storms being less widespread. Another issue is the smoke which can be difficult to predict. Areas with smoke we see cooler than expected daytime highs. An upper ridge that brought plenty of […] Read more