Tagged: Weather
Heat wave in so. Cal.! 120 degrees coming to Coachella Valley!
It’s summer, and as someone used to being frozen stiff during the extreme pit of winter, I am amused at all the stories of boiling hot weather in these places in the southwest USA that normally are pleasant the whole rest of the year.
According to this report the heat wave hitting Southern California is going to ramp up by Friday and likely break records. Temps are to hit 120 in the Coachella Valley!
You know, right now where I am, a lot of people consider our weather here to be “hot”. They ain’t seen nothing yet.
Major winter storm about to hit northeast USA/eastern Canada!!
The news is that a major winter storm, which the Weather Channel has dubbed Stella, is going to produce a major blizzard and snow dump for the northeast USA including the New York area. Southern Ontario will also get the brunt of it! Meanwhile, out on the Canadian prairie it’s been freaking cold the past few days!
When is winter going to be over? Aaargh!
Meanwhile in other weather news, today it was sunny and 84 C in Las Vegas, sunny and 31 C in Phoenix, sunny and 28 C in Cancun and sunny and 30 C in Havana. I guess some people don’t need to put up with winter.
Update (Monday): here is the latest forecast about the big blizzard. The biggest snow dump is happening Tuesday in the Northeast. Incidentally, it is probably now too late to escape to any of the warm places I just mentioned, because there have been thousands of flight cancellations.
Like everyone else, I’m staying inside because it is COLD!!!
There is no escape from winter throughout North America, it seems. We are suffering miserable local windchills here on the Canadian prairie approaching minus 40 Celsius!!! In the United States, they are getting winter storms and car-pileup conditions.
Even if you choose to simply hunker down indoors and watch football, you’ll still be reminded of winter. Tomorrow, the Chicago Bears host the Green Bay Packers in NFL action and that is likely to be the coldest Bears home game in Soldier Field history.
Arrgh! Maybe we should look for one of those quickie vacation deals to Las Vegas to escape this cold. Wait a minute, the temperature there today is just 9 degrees C?! And the low tonight will be zero?!
Good heavens! You can’t escape this winter cold at all.
Weather update: it’s a lot warmer south of where you are
Uh, just a reminder to snowbirds that you probably need to book your winter sun vacations soon.
For those of you in the frozen North who are increasingly fed up with forecasts that are getting colder by the week, here’s the weather report for sun destinations to cheer you up: for Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas, Havana, Palm Springs and Phoenix.
And just for fun, here is Honolulu and Las Vegas, too. Enjoy.
Weather report: Matthew could be a hurricane threat to Caribbean
So, I don’t feel like reading about Alicia Machado (Hillary Clinton’s favorite Miss Universe) yet again today. In fact, I don’t feel like reading any news, period. But I need my information fix, so instead I’m going to read the weather report.
Besides, I need to think of places to go to when North America goes straight into the freezer again this winter. Lessee, what’s the forecast looking like in the tropics? Is it sunny and hot down there, unlike here?
Oh, great. Matthew has started up in the Caribbean Sea as a tropical storm and could be a hurricane by early next week. It could threaten Jamaica, Haiti, Cuba, the Bahamas — all these fun places.
And it could threaten to cross those places off as potential vacation destinations if enough damage is done. Oh, well. Hopefully, this will miss all the major resorts and populated areas.
Update: Good grief, this storm is now category 4.
It is mid-February and we have all officially got the winter blahs!
We are midway through the month of February now, which means we have hit the point on the calendar when everyone in the snow zone is officially fed up with winter!
Of course, everyone in Toronto was moaning about how cold it was for the NBA All-Star Game. As for winter storm news: it looks like western NY is in line for another big snowstorm. Even where I am, where winter got off to a late start and has been unusually mild, people are sick of the snow and simply want it over.
But on the flip side: temperatures today in Las Vegas 23 C, Phoenix 31 C, Palm Springs 32 C, Los Cabos 27 C, Havana 26 C.
Well, that does it! Time to check around for travel deals.
Snowzilla sets snow records! But on the down side, it also killed 14 people
Just a brief note about the aftermath of Snowzilla. Yes, it turned out to be as big as it was hyped to be by the forecasters. It was the biggest snowstorm ever for at least six locations, including New York City.
Unfortunately, 14 people also died. Now, the cleanup begins. I hope the power is back on for all these folks in time for the NFL’s championship games today.
Rough weather in Texas; blizzards and tornadoes on the same day in the same state
Hopefully for you it was a Merry Christmas. It sounds like it was good weather for a lot of people, as there were record highs throughout the Northeast on Dec. 25. But unfortunately, it was not the case for everyone.
Texas in particular was very hard hit yesterday with the Dallas area, and Garland in particular, badly hit by tornadoes last night.
11 people were killed and something like 600 buildings damaged. Tornadoes are almost unheard of at this time of year — usually May is the biggest month for them in Texas, so for this sort of thing to happen in December was really unusual.
Add to that the fact that the western part of the state was hit by a blizzard the same day — something noticed by viewers to CBS’ hilarious telecast of the Sun Bowl game between Miami and Washington State in usually sunny El Paso. It was hilarious, in part, because they had Allie LaForce interview this shirtless Washington State fan with the snow falling at the Sun Bowl.
Unfortunately, what happened in the rest of the state was no laughing matter. The weather this year is crazy.
And now, the weather
Oh, nothing, I simply thought I would put up a link to the Weather Channel for anyone interested in what the forecast might be in any winter getaway vacation destinations.
Look out, Puerto Vallarta! Hurricane Patricia potentially the strongest hurricane ever!
We have heard of El Niño producing a milder winter in Canada than usual. Well, that’s good, because it looks like we will not be going to Puerto Vallarta for a winter getaway vacation this year. And it’s not just because we can’t afford it because our dollar is so low right now.
Cat. 5 Hurricane Patricia is coming in from the Pacific and is all ready to sock Puerto Vallarta and the rest of the state of Jalisco. It’s expected to make landfall tonight, and the full impact is expected by tomorrow.
Winds have been clocked at 200 mph. It is the strongest Pacific hurricane on record. Yikes!!
Of course, hurricanes are nothing new to resort communities in Mexico. Cancun has been hit before by hurricanes, and last year it was Los Cabos who got hit. Of course, Los Cabos managed to clean up pretty quickly, but it still made a huge mess and made for a difficult time getting tourists out of there. But those weren’t Cat. 5 storms. This is!!!
Today, everyone in Puerto Vallarta is freaking out and the tourists are getting the H out of there. But Manzanillo is also under threat and the situation could end up being even worse for them. It really is looking like a scary situation for Mexico.
Anyway, this is all useful information in planning winter getaway vacations — or, for those in Canada, in planning not to have them. We’ll keep you updated.
Now the weather: yes, I survived this latest big blast of snow this weekend
The weather in Saskatchewan remains the most interesting and maddening in the country. We had all thought we were through with winter; we were wrong. This past weekend I was in Saskatoon at a newspaper convention and the whole place was hit by a freak snowstorm, and was buried in a foot of snow.
There was so much of it that it set records for the month. In fact, I looked outside my hotel window and saw every news van in the CBC parking lot completely buried in the white stuff. That was funny.
It was crazy, with power outages throughout the city and lots of “Travel Not Recommended” warnings for the area highways. And in fact a lot of people weren’t able to make it to the convention for that reason, the highways were just miserable. But I guess because we were downtown, and because my group arrived in the city before the worst of the snowstorm hit and then left late on Sunday after it ended, we didn’t quite experience the worst of the conditions as other people did. We were basically in the hotel the whole time.
Now today, my area is back to enjoying plus-temperatures and the snow is totally gone. Tomorrow we expect to top 20 C. Weird, eh? Well, I guess this is better than tornadoes in Texas.
The first day of spring is tomorrow, and we are going to be right back to winter weather!!!
Aargh!! Tomorrow is the first day of spring, and instead of continuing to enjoy the mild spring weather we have had for several days now, Saskatchewan is going to get belted by an Alberta Clipper. That means an instant return of the snow and icy roads.
It probably will not be as bad, though, as the situation this week in Halifax, which is being buried in snow this week.
I know, I know, this snow will all go away soon enough. Still, it doesn’t make this weather any less annoying.
It’s on! The snow has started falling for the big Blizzard of 2015!
Yes, indeed, the Blizzard of 2015 has started and it looks like the Boston area will be receiving the brunt of it, as the Boston TV anchors and reporters keep on reminding us.
Live coverage from 7 News Boston here. Live coverage from New York here. Coverage from CNN here. And of course, Weather Channel coverage here.
Boston, New York, etc., be ready: the Blizzard of 2015 is about to bury the Northeast!
Tuesday is meant to be the big day when the big Blizzard of 2015 is meant to bury the Northeast. The Boston TV stations on our local cable TV are already going nuts, but New York is also going to be hit as are locales in between.
The forecasters say this could be historic. But TV weather people in the Northeast are infamous for predicting and hyping up winter storms that don’t measure up in the end.
To ensure the disbelieving masses get the message, New York mayor Bill de Blasio held a news conference Sunday where he was sounding the alarm bells and telling people this could be a storm “the likes of which we’ve never seen before.”
So have fun digging out, New York. After watching the Miss Universe pageant on TV, I will bet a lot of you are wishing you were in south Florida right now.
A lot of people are comparing what could happen to the Blizzard of ’96. I remember that one well, because I was interning at CTV News at the time and saw all the live feeds of the snow completely blanketing New York City. A friend of mine did her TV internship in New York at the same time, and she told me later about the fun time she had covering the blizzard. We’ll see whether this 2015 storm will top it.
Personally, my favorite snowstorm of all time was the infamous one I lived through in Toronto — infamous because to clear all the snow the mayor called in the army.
I wonder if de Blasio will have to resort to the army as a last resort in New York. If so, everyone in Canada will ridicule him, so he had better not.
Around my area, we have no snowstorms to speak of. The weather has been unusually mild, welcome relief from the minus 30 we usually get in January. And we get snow — but two to three feet?! I will say this for life on the prairies — it gets cold, but we rarely see snowstorms like this one about to hit the Northeast USA.
For coverage from the Weather Channel, see here. And that is all for now.
The weather here is terrible! Wind chills of minus 40! And it is cold across North America!
As you normally expect in January, North America is deep into winter weather. Our own local temperatures have dipped to lows around minus 30 with wind chills of minus 40 predicted! We are currently under an extreme cold warning across the province.
Much of the rest of North America is also looking at cold conditions. Here in Canada there is little escape, with nine provinces under watches or warnings.
This lousy weather has me seriously looking at winter getaway deals, some of which I might be able to afford thanks to the recent drop in gas prices. Main criteria for such a deal: “anywhere warm with no bedbugs.”
Count me in the camp that believes the #Santabomb talk is a bit too much hype
Social media is not doing the weather forecasting business any favours.
The real forecasters are out there trying to tell it like it is, yet too many folks on Twitter and elsewhere will hype up any potential storm and blow it out of proportion. Then people will read it and treat it as if it is Gospel and think Armageddon is coming. And then everyone ends up all disappointed when the storm turns out to be less than expected, and they turn around and blame the weather forecasters, even though the forecasters had nothing to do with it.
Take all this #Santabomb talk, for instance. That is supposed to be that massive system hitting eastern Canada and disrupting travel on Christmas Day. Suddenly, everyone hears about this Santabomb and they think it’s a certainty that a blizzard is coming, and that their travel plans will be ruined.
But I’ve read the real forecasts and they don’t point with any certainty to a blizzard at all, though they do predict a storm system that will produce a very messy couple of days at least. Likely a mixed precipitation event, from what I gather online.
Anyway, we’ll know more closer to the actual time, but for now, count me in the camp of people who thinks this #Santabomb is overhyped by the Twitterati. It won’t surprise me if all that happens is a bunch of the usual lousy winter weather out East that we have all come to expect, followed by a ton of complaining by disappointed storm-watchers on Twitter, again.
Cold, snow, freezing temps are here. Get used to it, Canada. (You too, USA.)
Fall is officially over in frozen Canada. After we enjoyed a snow-free Friday, the snow fell again today and the whole populace is completely covered. What is worse, we are all in for an “Arctic outbreak” that is going to impact North America this coming week. Apparently it has to do with a typhoon hitting Alaska that will drive all the cold air south towards the mainland USA.
More on that outbreak here. So bundle up, folks. I hate winter weather!!
Sadly, expecting to be snowed right under around here tomorrow
Weather update: currently I am watching the Winnipeg-Calgary CFL game being played in Calgary in a heap of snow. Regrettably, we are in store for exactly the same thing.
Our own area is looking at heavy snow tomorrow.We are looking at possibly 10 cm tomorrow, and northwest SK is under a snowfall warning.
Hopefully, it will all melt pretty quickly over the coming days, as temperatures will be above freezing, but it will be no fun here tomorrow.
You can find out more about the overall snow forecast for Alta. and SK here.
In short, winter weather is arriving right on schedule. Rats.
Also, I hereby declare that I am now officially in the market for winter getaway vacation deals. Honestly, I don’t know why I put up with this.
Latest hurricane news: Bermuda getting socked by Gonzalo right now
Let us move away from news about diseases and go back to talking weather, shall we?
Hurricane Gonzalo is going strong right now and Bermuda is taking a direct hit. Coverage here.
Well, I guess this weather news won’t cheer people up, either. Honestly, there is not much cheery news out there right now.
October isn’t looking so bad from my vantage point: I’ll have eight of the next 17 days off!!!
Too bad it is so COLD!!!!
No wonder the birds have been freaking out and are in such a panic to fly out of here. Why is it that around here, spring always seems to start late, and then summer always seems to start late, but fall arrives right on time?! And then winter arrives early? That, my friends, is life in Saskatchewan in a nutshell.
Hurricane Odile made a big mess in Mexico. Don’t go to Los Cabos any time soon, folks!!!
Just a note to all of you Mexico-loving tourists that you should not, I repeat, not take any last-minute deals to Los Cabos, because this just happened.
Category 3 Hurricane Odile swept in yesterday and made a big mess down there, and there are trees down and places are flooded.
Also, tourists are having no end of fun getting airlifted out.
Moral of this story? Always buy travel insurance. And never go to Mexico during hurricane season — not even on Baja California Sur.
You know, September happens to be winter in some places — like Calgary. What a mess!!
My brother had to drive through the snow in the Calgary area on Monday, on his way back to BC on Tuesday, and we all thought this was a freak occurrence. He even posted pictures of the snow there that day covering his Volkswagen.
Well, it is now midweek, and in Alberta the snow has kept on coming. So much of the white stuff has fallen that tree branches have gone down and power is out around the city.
Good grief!! Calgary can’t catch a break, whether it is floods, or an early winter, or whatever. What a mess!!!
As for where I am here we aren’t getting snow — yet — but we are getting low temperatures and frost warnings everywhere. And this happened all of a sudden on Monday, too, after a sunny and hot weekend.
Our weather now is exactly the sort of thing worthy of late October or November here, but we’re getting it now. And they say this is still summer for a few more days yet? I don’t think folks here believe it!! Welcome to winter, Canada.
Proof Saskatchewan is boring: top story for the past few days is the HEAT! I am not kidding.
I have come to the sad conclusion that Saskatchewan is dull and boring. The proof came when I tuned in the local news the other day and found out the top story in all Saskatchewan was that it was hot out. Upwards of 40 Celsius with the Humidex, they said.
Folks in Las Vegas, Phoenix, Cancun et al. must surely be doubling over in laughter at us. And they should, because a couple of days of hot weather is not news — not even in Saskatchewan, where life is usually miserable. But the way this was reported here by various places, you would have thought the hot weather was some sort of crisis.
When the best that local newsrooms can do for stories is have hot weather lead the news, it proves only one thing — this place is boring!
Sunshine and good weather is not news. This, however, is. (Be glad you are not in Ferguson, Missouri, right now.)
A word of advice to Saskatchewan people: enjoy summer while you can, because it won’t be long before it’s over.
This is a good day to stay updated on the latest weather warnings in Sask., folks
I am hiding out at home, checking out the weather conditions all over Saskatchewan on the Weather Network right now. I am also checking the Twitter feed and plan to tune in the storm chaser streams soon, There are already multiple severe weather watches and already some warnings all over Saskatchewan, and the current conditions can be found here.
Where I am it is quite dark-looking outside, but most of the really bad weather is to the south at the moment. But it is the very south of the province that is expecting a really bad storm situation. Last night, the southwest was hit really badly with a big storm that had baseball-sized hail! That is the last thing the farmers need. And keep in mind, only a short time ago the eastern half of the province was flooded. Anyway, that is what we are in for today in beautiful, Grey Cup-winning Saskatchewan.
Now, here’s a link to a story at Global Saskatoon about how bad the storm warnings have been in this province. Among other things, there weren’t any official storm warnings issued for those recent tornadoes that hit the province until it was too late, even though the storm chasers and all the TV weather forecasters around here were all predicting it and Tweeting about it.
Moreover, the Bethune radar broke down yet again this summer, right when it is most needed. (I understand it is now back up and running.) Really, this is ridiculous! We need a system in place here like they have in the ‘States, where all the resources are in place and people are given proper warning before the big tornado hits. This business of people having to go outside and look at the sky to guess what is going on is not good enough.
That’s it for now, back to live continuing Weather Network watching for me.
Wild day of tornadoes in Saskatchewan yesterday
If you were wondering what I was up to Saturday, I was being chased by a big storm all the way on the highway to Saskatoon. As it turned out this storm produced some scary tornadoes south of the city.
That was interesting. Hopefully, the weather here will improve and people here can maybe actually enjoy summer for a change.
Latest on Hurricane Arthur, bearing down on the coast of North Carolina tonight
Just want to let you know Arthur is now a hurricane and expected to make landfall tonight. Weather Channel live blog here. Also, live coverage from WCNC Charlotte here. And coverage from WNCN Raleigh is here.
That’s it for me as I now intend to watch both the hurricane coverage and the CFL game between Winnipeg and Ottawa, all at the same time.
Look out North Carolina, Arthur is coming
The question right now is whether Arthur will be a Tropical Storm or a Hurricane when he gets to North Carolina on Thursday. Anyway, the forecasts are here.
Happy Fourth of July, folks in the USA. You can have your tropical storms and hurricanes, we have enough problems to deal with here at the moment.
And now, the weather
It has not been a fun last couple of days weather-wise for a lot of people in a lot of places.
First of all, there was a big tornado that touched down in Angus, Ontario and damaged 100 homes. Also that day, a bolt of lightning injured people on a golf course in Stouffville, Ontario.
Then later, northeast Nebraska was hit by another tornado situation again.
Closer to us, in Alberta, the rainfall situation has been so bad that now there are flood emergencies in a number of places there.
Where I am, we are getting a lot of rain. Yet people here think this is worth complaining about. Hey folks, it could be worse. Look at these other places!
It’s June, yet there is nothing but storm clouds on the horizon in Saskatchewan
Welcome to June in Saskatchewan, the start of what should be my favorite time of year in the province. No more snow or cold, folks — this starts the three warmest, sunniest, best weather months of the year, but more than that — it is the START of SASK. ROUGHRIDERS training camp!!
Bwahahahahaha!!!
Not only has it been rainy with storms here today, but it looks increasingly as if the CFL players are going to vote to go on strike, thereby ruining training camp and the season.
Well, so much for that.
Also, I wrote a column about the impending strike and the alternatives we are faced with as fans in the event of a walkout, a column which is really nothing more than a rehash of what I’ve already written here at this blog.
Anyway, you can add one more thing people can do in the event of a strike — and that’s watching Weather Channel live streams of storm coverage in the USA, which is exactly what I am doing right now. Fun stuff.
Keep your eye on the weather updates in SW Sask, tornado watches are in effect #skstorm
There have been some weather forecasts in the last 24 hours predicting possible supercell storms in southwest and south-central SK today. Apparently, the forecast is so bad that it has apparently even attracted famous storm chaser Reed Timmer here to SK again to chase tornadoes.
Whether this threat comes true is another story, entirely, as chasers have been wrong before.
Keep your eye on the storm chasers on Twitter at #skstorm and the live streaming action at TVNWeather and on Greg Johnson’s Tornado Hunter site later this afternoon. Also be sure to watch The Weather Network and stay tuned to Environment Canada.
Tornado Watches have now been issued for a good portion of the southwest including Swift Current and Moose Jaw, extending right to the US border. We’ll see if any of these become Warnings if storms develop. Keep in mind Watford City, ND got hit by a big tornado a couple of days ago, so be sure to take any weather threat today seriously.
Stay alert and stay alive today, folks.
———————————————
Update: Well, we didn’t get tornadoes but there were big storms across Saskatchewan, and I notice Greg Johnson had to call for help to get his vehicle out of the mud. Hairy stuff.
And now, the weather report for this second Wednesday in May
Well, we have had another interesting recent weekend of tornado activity. Nebraska in particular was particularly hard hit on Sunday, so I tuned in some of the storm chasing coverage online.
Now, however, we have moved on from live tornado coverage. Instead, we are now getting live fire coverage.
Here’s Fox 5 San Diego live coverage of their lousy fires they are having down in Southern California. Have a nice day.
Oh, and before people in Saskatchewan start being their cocky selves, it’s bone dry here which means we’re getting fires here, too — except we don’t have nearly the population southern California does, so the fires here don’t end up burning down neighborhoods in the process.
Also, I notice the temperatures here in Sask. are the exact same ones you get in Las Vegas in mid-January.
Yes, folks, we’re getting Vegas winter weather. In May. In Saskatchewan. Think about it.
Why do I live in Saskatchewan? Minus 50 windchills forecast for this weekend!
I don’t know why I don’t simply pack my bags for Cancun like some of my coworkers are, given the continued horrendous winter conditions here in Saskatchewan. The weekend weather could dip as low as minus 40 Celsius before you are even counting the windchill. With the windchill it could drop below minus 50 C! In the month of March!
Even by Saskatchewan standards this is a new Arctic low. And folks in charge still think they can attract new workers here with these conditions.
Anyway, look on the bright side. At least we are not getting smog, like in China.
Are there any more winter escape deals to be had, anywhere south of here? Please, no offers for trips to Atlanta, I know all about their snow already.
SNOWED UNDER IN FROZEN SASKATCHEWAN
Yes, the snow has finally arrived. As an aside — no, I have not booked my winter getaway vacation yet, but I probably should start thinking about it.
SNOW WATCH 2013: AHEM. NO SNOW HERE YET
Well, so much for the forecasts. This is what you get when Environment Canada understaffs its Saskatchewan operation.
Actually, though, southern Alberta is under a snowfall warning right now. The live cams from Alberta are pretty depressing looking, with these places covered in snow. Well, as far as I am concerned they can have their snow and keep it — leave Saskatchewan out of it!
SNOW WATCH 2013: EXPECTING THE WHITE STUFF BY TOMORROW
I hate to be the bearer of bad news for folks in Saskatchewan and Alberta, but I have it on pretty good authority from the weather forecast-type people that we’ll be getting snow by tomorrow. My area is forecast for a 60 percent chance of flurries.
Darn it! Well, having no snow was fun while it lasted. Time to start looking for winter getaway deals. Heck, birds are smart enough to go south for the entire winter. Why humans need to put up with this total nonsense, I don’t know, but I guess we all have jobs to go to.
BIG BREAKING NEWS: WINTER IS NOT HERE YET
I was at the local supermarket today and noticed some people openly speculating on whether it will snow here.
I’ve noticed this kind of talk going on for the past several days here in this increasingly miserable-looking province of Saskatchewan. I know it’s getting cold and the skies have been forbidding, but it’s always like that at this time of year here. It’s as if people here want winter to show up. It’s almost as if they want the snow, just so they can complain about it.
For the record — I think all we are going to get is freezing rain. At least, that is what I hope it is, so then I can laugh at the rest of the population for all this snow talk. Even if we do get snow, I doubt it will last long anyway because the forecast is calling for the temperature to go up to 10 degrees C by mid-week. I think this snow talk is really a big waste of time by the populace here.
Still, this has prompted me to look into a possible winter vacation getaway, somewhere in the sun belt, once I am able to afford to take one. Just because winter is coming does not mean you need to put up with winter for the entire winter.
SOME WEATHER THOUGHTS FOR MID-OCTOBER
We are now deep into mid-October, and while the weather around here in Saskatchewan is certainly colder than it was before, so far the snow is staying away and that is really the one thing I care about. I can handle a little cold, but snow? Well, that thought is just too depressing.
Other places, however, have had snow troubles of their own — particularly South Dakota which had to dig out from its recent BLIZZARD. Wow, so soon!?!
Normally I would say “better them than us,” except in this case their ranchers lost an enormous amount of cattle. That’s no good. Anyway, that’s what happens when winter shows up in your neck of the woods unexpectedly early.
Normally we would still be in hurricane mode in the Western Hemisphere, but as you know hurricane season has been pretty much a bust so far, with only the odd tropical storm making life hairy for some people in Mexico.
Other than that, it has been Asia who has been getting hit hard. This weekend Cyclone Phailin hit India and I watched some of the local news channels from India cover that one live. Those TV folks on NDTV and CNN-IBN looked like American hurricane reporters the way they were covering that storm.
There was a point in time when I was younger when I had this misguided notion that hurricanes and cyclones and typhoons might be entirely different things. Turns out these are pretty much all the same type of storm. The only difference is basically where and when they develop — apparently, cyclone season runs on a somewhat different calendar.
That’s all I really wanted to say about the weather. The reason I have this weird preoccupation with the forecasts right now is because it was around this same time last year that things really turned for the worse around here. The snow showed up way too early, and stayed right though spring. I guess I am hoping to see no repeat of that, so maybe we might have a snow-free Christmas around here, for a change.
Unfortunately the longer range forecast is suggesting there could be snow as soon as this weekend. Great — exactly what everyone in Saskatchewan is wanting to hear. Still, the forecast is also predicting there shouldn’t be too much of it and that it should melt quickly if it does show up.
Well, good. As far as I am concerned, at this point in the year every day that isn’t a snow day is a good day.
TORNADO WATCHES FOR SASKATCHEWAN
A scary weather day is unfolding in Saskatchewan. Much of the southern portion of the province including Saskatoon and Regina are under Tornado Watches. There were already Severe Thunderstorm warnings out for a few places but those are now lifted, for the time being anyway.
Here’s what the Weather Network had to say about the situation. Chris Scott of the Weather Network already tweeted there were going to be “‘Oklahoma-style’ t-storms for Saskatchewan today.”
Whenever any forecasting higher-up invokes the word ‘Oklahoma’ to describe the weather situation, folks had better take notice. That’s exactly the type of word used to get peoples’ attention.
I have a few links to share on where Saskatchewan folks can get weather information today. Obviously, there’s Environment Canada Weather (including their radar page) and the Weather Network, but Twitter is a good resource by using the hashtag #skstorm.
As well, Tornado Hunter Greg Johnson plans to be live streaming today, and I expect the same activity over at TVN Weather. Also good in these weather situations is CKOM and CJME who usually cut in for live coverage in storm situations.
That’s all I have for now. Hopefully these storms today won’t be too terrible.
BIG HEAT WAVE IN THE USA: 129 F EXPECTED IN DEATH VALLEY!
I notice the folks in the southwestern desert areas of the USA are being baked alive with a big heat wave. Highs expected through Monday:
117 degrees Fahrenheit in Las Vegas during the World Series of Poker.
119 F in Phoenix, Arizona.
129 F in Death Valley, California!
Does this mean you can fry eggs on the sidewalks down there? I guess so, eh?! All I can say is yikes!!!
I hope the air conditioning holds up for the folks in Las Vegas, Phoenix, Death Valley and elsewhere in the desert. I imagine the Slurpee business at the local 7-Elevens is through the roof.
I may like to go to that region of the USA in the winter, but this is one weekend in particular when I am glad to be here and not there.
I HEREBY DECLARE WINTER TO BE OVER, FINALLY
At least, where I am, where we have finally had temperatures over 20 degrees Celsius (though this is actually not considered to be such good news, according to the “News“.)
Winter also appears to be finally over south of the border, to be replaced by — TORNADO SEASON. Again, not such good news, according to the “News.”
According to the Weather Channel reports I’ve been reading, it appears Kansas, Oklahoma and north Texas could be in line for severe weather by Thursday, with an elevated tornado threat — though it looks like the main threat is going to be hail. So be ready for plenty of storm-chasers to go online to stream their video online on that day.
Even though we no longer are suffering through winter weather and instead are suffering spring weather, I still refuse to let these groundhogs off the hook for their lousy predictions for 2013. Groundhog Day was February 2, yet spring didn’t arrive here until May.
These prognosticating rodents were only off by three full months. This really calls for the abolition of Groundhog Day, folks, because this is incompetence of the highest order. Phil, Willie, all of you: “you’re fired!!”
That is my final word on these sorry groundhogs, and that is it for my weather report for today. Good-day!!
