This winter was unusually mild over most of the west this year. Although the lack of bitterly cold temperatures was more than welcome for most of us, we could all agree that we could have done with some more moisture. Over a large portion of the prairies, there was a real lack of snow cover… Read More
Category: RealWeatherWatch
It wasn’t that long ago that I was complaining to everyone who would listen about how sick I was of writing about the wet weather and flooding. No doubt, not as sick as producers were of working in it, but that was a pretty depressing stretch for all involved. Let’s hope drought isn’t the next… Read More
For farmers looking for a different weather story than last year’s, you might be out of luck. Although most of us know that there is no sure-fire, 100% accurate weather forecast, the spring and summer forecast for Ontario doesn’t look all that encouraging. According to meteorologist Art Douglas, a short growing season due to moisture… Read More
With the exception of a few soaked areas, spring planting, even though late, and the early spring growing season went pretty well in Ontario in 2011. In general, crops progressed nicely through what could have been a real mess and there were some fairly decent yields to be seen across the province. So what can… Read More
So here it is February and we’ve officially had one week of winter…..I think. In fact, parts of the prairies this week will see extended periods of double digit temperatures. That’s great from a not liking the cold perspective, but unfortunately, there hasn’t been a lot of moisture to go along with that either. That… Read More
So far, across most of the West, it’s been what can only be described as an odd winter. Parts of the southwest have experienced hurricane force winds, a great portion has seen extended periods of plus temperatures up to now offset by short periods of temperatures in the extreme of up to minus 40. With… Read More
Do you ever wish that something would just happen? Winter this year has been that way. It seems as though everyone is just waiting for the other shoe to fall. One storm comes and we say “here it is, winter’s here!”, only to have rain the following week. The mild weather is nice and all,… Read More
If the past few days are any indication of the winter to come, I say bring it on. Unfortunately, we all know that this can’t last. Officially, we’re not even into winter yet. Winter will come, it’s just a matter of time until there’s a massive dump of snow and some absolutely brutal temperatures. It’s… Read More
White Christmas? If recent temperatures are any indication, we may have to haul in snow to make that happen. Although winter’s not officially underway, there has been a real unsettled pattern of weather leading into it. While it may not be as dramatic and volatile as late November-early December, as Chris Scott of the Weather… Read More
We are in the middle of a weather brawl, and it feels like it. Wild winds, snow blasts and other types of unsettled weather are making life less than pleasant for all those impacted. Until winter actually moves to settle in, we can probably expect more of this instability to come. This seems to be… Read More
Farmers trying to get their fall tillage completed before winter sets in have had their efforts frustrated over the past few weeks. Cold, rainy conditions have been less than ideal when it comes to fieldwork. You can get sick of these unstable weather patterns pretty quick. It’s at this point that most people just want… Read More
Winter. We all know it’s coming, but it’s the waiting that really gets you. This is the time of year when you can’t make any definitive plans based on the weather because everything is just so uncertain in this time between seasons. So when will this winter get started, and what should we be looking… Read More
The effects of periodic rain during summer harvest can range from inconvenient to extremely disruptive depending on the amount. That effect grows exponentially when rain comes at this time of year. It just takes that much longer for fields to dry out in this cold. It’s a fact that is weighing on the minds of… Read More
As the bulk of the prairie harvest progresses to completion, there are still some areas of the west that are lagging behind because of less than stellar conditions. One of those areas is the Peace Region of Northern Alberta. This growing season has been less than kind to them and the harvest has been slow… Read More
Patience is being tested in farmers living in Southern Ontario as the wrap up for soybean harvest for some and the beginning of corn harvest for others has been prolonged by some wet weather. It doesn’t look as though relief is going to come in the immediate future either. This week on the RealWeatherWatch we… Read More