Back-to-back weekends of extremely windy conditions in southern Manitoba has some people asking whether we are currently in a windy cycle and if this is a sign of things to come.
David Phillips is Senior Climatologist with Environment Canada. He says though it has been a windy year for this half of the province, there is not much we should be reading into this.
"Just because you've had a few wind episodes, doesn't mean you are into a cycle of that," explains Phillips. "And on the other hand, it doesn't mean that you've had your allotment of it, so there won't be anymore. It's sort of just the way the weather is."
Phillips says this last weekend's wind event is a textbook example of what happens when you have warm air undercut by cold air. He says it was an Alberta Clipper that saw very warm Pacific air come through and was then undercut by cold Arctic air.
"When warm meets cold, you get all kinds of weather breaking out and often it is with really strong winds," explains Phillips. "It can come sometimes with snow or rain, but this one was really about the winds."
Phillips says the strong winds were an issue on Friday in Alberta and on Saturday in southern Saskatchewan and southern Manitoba. And Phillips says it was not only the hourly average wind speeds which in many cases were into the 60, 70, or 80 kilometres per hour (km/h). He notes some gusts, particularly in Alberta and Saskatchewan came in at well over 100 km/h. In Manitoba, Phillips says the highest wind gust in Winnipeg reached 86 km/h and Brandon hit 94 km/h.
Phillips explains that what made the situation worse, is that so many trees in southern Manitoba are still full of leaves. He notes if we had this sort of weather event in December, the wind would blow through the trees without any leaves acting as pressure points. But, with so many leaves still on trees, Phillips says they are creating sails, causing more stress on the trees in windy conditions.
"This makes them more prone to collapsing or to being pulled out or knocked down on power lines," he adds.
Phillips goes on to explain that similar to an Alberta Clipper in winter, the weather event this last weekend resulted in quite the temperature change. He recalls that some places experienced temperatures in the 20 degree range on Saturday, before cooling off and plummeting to -5 degrees that night.
Phillips says this hit-and-run weather event resulted in traffic issues in some locations with trucks blowing over and cars finding it difficult to maneuver. He notes it also downed power lines.
"I guess the good news, it didn't come with any snow," adds Phillips. "Because we'd be talking about the blizzard rather than just about the strong winds."
Phillips says an Alberta Clipper in January or February strikes fear in the hearts of Manitobans. He notes you can start with springlike weather, but after the clipper has passed through, it can leave you in a deep freeze with cold conditions that last a week or longer.
Meanwhile, Phillips reminds us that September and October are months of transition in southern Manitoba. He notes it is no longer summer and not yet winter. Phillips adds this transition period is when you get a lot of dramatic, quick-changing weather, which is what he says we experienced this last weekend.
"I wouldn't say that this announced the coming of winter or the weather misery," Phillips points out. "I think it is still just one of those things that happened across the Prairies."