Ducklings on display at the Red River Ex in Winnipeg on June 20, 2023 stuck to the shady side of the waterer as daytime temperatures maxed out at nearly 36 C. (Dave Bedard photo)

Prairie Forecast: Shift in the pattern

Issued June 21, covering June 21 to 28

Reading Time: 3 minutes The weather pattern that brought some record heat to the eastern Prairies, and some significant rains to parts of Alberta, looks like it will be undergoing a bit of change during this forecast period. The overall flow across the Prairies appears as though it will become predominantly northwesterly as an upper low sets up over […] Read more

File photo of stormy conditions over Alberta fields. (Larry Stickney/iStock/Getty Images)

Prairie Forecast Update: Alberta low to break in two

Forecast issued June 18, covering June 19-21

Reading Time: < 1 minute So far, the general forecast seems to be on track, but there have been some changes. The area of low pressure expected to develop and move north through Alberta is still on track but the weather models now it show it winding itself up across central and northern Alberta on Monday before it breaks apart […] Read more


File photo of storm clouds over northeastern Alberta. (ImagineGolf/E+/Getty Images)

Prairie Forecast: Alberta low looks to dominate

Forecast issued June 14, covering June 14-21

Reading Time: 3 minutes So far, the weather models have been doing a good job with the medium-range forecasts, only falling off late in the forecast period. Of course, in the summer, short-range forecasts can be difficult, especially when it comes to just when and where thunderstorms will develop. I always find it interesting that a forecast could be […] Read more

(Brett Holmes Photography/iStock/Getty Images)

Prairie Forecast: Switch in pattern but summer sticking around

Forecast issued June 7, covering June 7-14

Reading Time: 3 minutes The weather models are doing a good job handling all the heat and humidity that has been driving thunderstorms and breaking temperature records across the eastern half of the Prairies over the last week. To the west it has been a little cooler and drier, with not as much instability to deal with, but nonetheless, […] Read more


File photo of rice growing near Pune in Maharashtra, western India. (ePhotocorp/iStock/Getty Images)

Late Indian monsoon to start in next two days

The monsoon is vital to the country's agricultural production

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm – The onset of India’s annual southwest monsoon, which is vital to the country’s agricultural production, is expected to hit the southern state of Kerala within the next 48 hours, according to an update from the India Meteorological Department. The persistence of westerly winds over the Arabian Sea, the increased depth of those westerly […] Read more

Apple blooms under cloudy skies in Winnipeg on May 24, 2023. (Dave Bedard photo)

NEW FEATURE: Prairie Forecast: Summerlike conditions moving in

Forecast issued May 24, 2023, covering May 24-31, 2023

Reading Time: 2 minutes As we head into the final week of May, it is looking to be very summerlike across much of the Prairies. Currently there is a strong area of cool high pressure centred over the Great Lakes. This area of high pressure is what brought cool and windy conditions to the eastern Prairies on Wednesday. As […] Read more


Hailstones in Winnipeg on May 10, 2023. (Dave Bedard photo)

Prairie Forecast Update: Forecast on track

Forecast issued May 14, 2023, covering the half-week stretch from May 14 to 17, 2023

Reading Time: < 1 minute The weather models have been remarkably accurate for this time of the year. The big weather picture remains the same. There is a large, persistent ridge of high pressure over far Western Canada with an equally persistent trough of low pressure over Eastern Canada. This means western regions will continue to see sunny, dry and […] Read more

Forecast probability of temperature above, below and near normal (calibrated) for the period of March, April and May 2023. (Map by Environment and Climate Change Canada)

‘Normal’ spring ahead for most of the Prairies

Below-normal rains expected for southern Alberta, western Saskatchewan

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Canada’s Prairies are looking at normal temperatures over the next month to three months, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). The federal department on Tuesday issued its temperature and precipitation probabilistic forecasts, which also called for normal precipitation for most of the region. “The forecast is really neutral for the Prairies, […] Read more


The SWOT spacecraft is moved into a transport container inside the Astrotech facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base on Nov. 18, 2022. (Photo: USSF 30th Space Wing/Chris Okula)

NASA to conduct first global water survey from space

Data would bolster weather and climate forecasts

Reading Time: 3 minutes Los Angeles | Reuters — A NASA-led international satellite mission was set for blastoff from southern California early on Thursday on a major Earth science project to conduct a comprehensive survey of the world’s oceans, lakes and rivers for the first time. Dubbed SWOT, short for Surface Water and Ocean Topography, the advanced radar satellite […] Read more

File photo of wheat south of Ethelton, Sask. on Aug. 1, 2022. (Dave Bedard photo)

Prairies’ high-pressure ridge should give way by mid-month

Brisk harvest pace expected meanwhile

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — While there’s not one specific cause of the hot September the Canadian Prairies has generally been having so far, Weatherlogics chief scientist Scott Kehler notes one particular shorter-term factor. “There is a fairly strong upper-level ridge of high pressure across the Prairies right now,” he explained, adding it should dissipate by mid-month. The […] Read more