10. Sunrises and Sunsets While great sunrises and sunsets can happen anywhere, the Canadian Prairies seem to have a high frequency of truly spectacular events in a given year. This is particularly true in the Chinook Country of southwestern Alberta. Whether it's a morning Chinook Arch with illuminated tendrils of virga, the upwind edge of a Chinook Arch at sunset, or evening mammatus after a storm, there's no shortage of banger events treating delighted locals.  All scenes above were shot on my smartphone in 2021. 9. Southern Alberta Grassfire, then Dust Storm  ..read more

 10. Plate Stack Lenticulars On December 15, an incredible lenticular stack occurred atop a standing wave east of Centre Peak in southwest Alberta. Wintertime along the foothills of Alberta can be an interesting time for watching clouds associated with Chinooks and downslope windstorms.  Earlier in the year, timelapse imagery revealed the impressive motion of a violently tumbling rotor cloud, as snow was being lofted off front range peaks by winds gusting over 160km/h.  Screengrab of above linked video.  9. Central Alberta Ice Jams I ..read more

10. McCook, Nebraska Tornado   On May 17th, my chase partner Jo and friends Darren and Poi Yee and I observed a tornado just northwest of McCook, Nebraska. It was probably the most photogenic of all the tornadoes we observed on our Tornado Alley adventures in 2019. Unfortunately, it caused EF2 damage. We missed a later photogenic tornado, opting out of taking area backroads in our rental car. It was nonetheless satisfying seeing a target come to fruition as forecast a couple of days earlier. 9. Waterton Snowstorm During the last few days of September, a tremendous snowstorm ..read more

5. Aftermath of Kilauea Eruption on Hawaii The active Kilauea Volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii had been spewing lava through the area of Leilani Estates, on the eastern part of the island, causing catastrophic damage. We had arrived to island just after the much-publicized lava river ceased flowing in mid-August, so we just observed the aftermath. I got a personal tour from a member of the National Guard to survey the damage as a media personality. Thankfully by then, lingering "vog" (toxic volcanic fog) had also blown away, with improved air quality.  Toward the end of our week-l ..read more

The Heat Incredible, record-shattering, unprecedented. These were some of the terms commonly heard during the western North American heat wave of late June and early July 2021. And the event truly was unprecedented, with a highly anomalous upper ridge as part of a Rex Block whose intensity was nearly a statistical impossibility. With a magnitude of four to five standard deviations from the mean at its peak, an event like this might normally be expected once every few thousand years. This so-called "Heat Dome" resulted in stifling heat for many days, with numerous all-time record temperatures ..read more

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 On Monday evening, February 22, thousands of Calgarians were treated to a rare display of wintertime thunder and lightning - all while heavy snow, graupel, and soft hail fell across parts of the city. At least two flashes were detected, with the first occurring over Broadcast Hill in the city's southwest just after 9PM MST, and a second flash at about 920PM over the downtown core. Reports and photo evidence from an area resident confirms the first flash likely hit a TV tower, with the orientation of the lightning bolt indicating an upward flash. In many ways, this was a te ..read more

 Meteorology  A memorable, and perhaps record-breaking winter storm is set to impact much of the prairies this weekend, bringing heavy snow and strong winds that will likely make travel difficult to impossible at times through much of southern Saskatchewan and portions of southern Alberta. As a large upper low/trough digs into the southwest US throughout the day on Saturday, a broad deformation zone develops from the northern US Rockies through southeastern Alberta northeastwards into the central prairies. Heavy snow will develop along this feature throughout the day on Saturday, w ..read more

Our view of the tornado from near Stavely. On July 12, 2020, a tornado occurred deep in the rolling terrain of the northern Porcupine Hills about 17km WSW of Nanton on a roughly west-to-east track, between 107-120PM MDT. It impacted one property, ripping the roof off a barn, and destroying a shop - among other damage in the yard. Meteorological Background Environment and Observations Severe weather was anticipated in parts of southern and central Alberta on July 12. The parent tornadic supercell occurred in the southern foothills on the cyclonic shear side of a 50 knot 500mb jet s ..read more

The following is based solely on my current understanding of the meteorology and prediction of thunderstorms, and of how these specifically relate to the province of Alberta. It is in no way meant to be a formal discussion. Rather, the intended audience is other chasers and weather enthusiasts residing in Alberta that wish to gain a better understanding of how and why thunderstorms occur here and in the manner in which they do – though others may also find the material interesting. I will also include some suggestions for further reading within this blog post. I have created and annotated m ..read more