File photo of a Saskatchewan grid road in winter. (Daxus/iStock/Getty Images)

Prairie forecast: More typical mid-winter weather

Issued Jan. 17, covering Jan. 17 to 24

For this forecast period it looks like it'll simply be winter--not bone chilling cold, but not springtime warm. The general pattern that appears to be developing across the prairies is showing warm air trying to push northeastwards out of the western U.S., but with a northwesterly flow across the prairies, it looks like there will be a parade of cold, arctic high-pressure systems dropping southeastwards every few of days. The question is, just how far north will the warm air push, or for far south will the arctic air push?



(Keeperofthezoo/iStock/Getty Images)

Prairie forecast: Winter temperatures moving in

Issued Jan. 03, covering: Jan. 3 – 10

Looking at this forecast period, the best way I can describe it is that we will be seeing a slow slide into more seasonal temperatures. The persistent upper-level ridging that brought warm--and record warm temperatures--to much of the prairies in December has broken down. The weather models are showing a trough of low pressure developing over the west coast over the next seven days.




Prairie forecast: Mild and dry weather right up to the holidays

Prairie forecast: Mild and dry weather right up to the holidays

Issued Dec. 13, covering Dec. 13 to Dec. 25

Here is the big picture: there are two current storm tracks across North America. The first, which is well to our north, is the storm track that would normally be across our region. So far this winter, it has been displaced to our north – one of the reasons we have been dry. The second storm track is well to the south across the southern U.S. This places us under a rather slack flow as we oscillate between pushes of warm and cool air with each passage of low-pressure to our north.


Prairie forecast: Average to above average temperatures to continue

Prairie forecast: Average to above average temperatures to continue

Issued Dec. 6, covering Dec. 6 to Dec. 13

With no big storm system impacting our region, the weather models have been doing a good job with the forecasts over the last few weeks. As we start to move closer and closer towards the middle of winter, the longer we can keep the warm air around, the shorter we can hope winter will be. With that said, here is what the big picture is looking like over the next seven or so days.




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

Prairie forecast: One more shot of warm weather?

Issued Nov. 14, covering Nov. 15 to 18

It looks like the well above average temperatures that flooded across the prairies over the last week or so will be coming to an end, at least eventually. The good news is that it doesn't look like it will be an abrupt end with well below average temperatures moving in.