Rainy weekend...again

Sadly it looks like rain and thunderstorms for the weekend in southern and eastern Ontario and Quebec as well as New York with temperatures struggling to reach the 20C mark. Any sunshine today will fade behind the clouds as low pressure from the Midwest begins to move in. The associated warm and cold fronts will provide the lift for the rain and storms beginning tonight. There may be the odd sunny break Saturday afternoon , but they will be few and far between. Upwards of one inch or 25mm of rain may fall in the showers and thunderstorms.

Above: Here are some of my pictures from Fenway Park in Boston. The weather was chilly and showery at times but the venue was awesome and the champs won 11-9 over Kansas City.

Warmer but more rain on the way

• A bright sunny day in Kemptville today after two very cold nights. It was 3C yesterday morning and a little milder at 5C this morning. There was even a hint of frost in the area on both days. It appears that a milder southwest flow will develop today with high temperatures approaching 25C. The milder air will become increasingly humid on Friday with showers and thunderstorms by sunset. The weekend looks showery but mild. Sadly it will be very wet both days. Any thunderstorms that do occur may be accompanied by heavy downpours or small hail.

• Earlier in the week Environment Canada confirmed the first two tornadoes of the young season in Ontario. They both occurred across the northwest part of the province Monday night. They were both F-0 with minimal damage.

• The first tropical system of the year depression one has formed off the coast of Central America. It is slowly gaining strength as it moves along the Pacific Coast.

Frost Warning

A late season frost is expected tonight in a wide swath from the southern prairies across northern and southern Ontario and into Quebec and New England. Warnings have been posted for many areas. Expect temperatures to approach the freezing mark in the pre-dawn hours in Kemptville. We are not under a warning, however a light frost may occur away from any bodies of water. Cover up any delicate vegetation just to be on the safe side. The balance of the week will be sunny and seasonable.

Tornado damage in Iowa

More tornadoes across

Midwest & Manitoba

A cool vaction....Well...I am back - pictures to follow soon. I spent a week along the Maine and New Hampshire coast, with a stopover in Boston to watch my Red Sox sweep Kansas City. The weather was, well lets just say not very good. The same upper level low that brought cool, showery and breezy weather to Ontario affected New England as well. It did not stop us from taking a walk along the beach but it was chilly.

The deadly tornado season that has come to define 2008 continued this past weekend with 8 more fatalities, mostly in Iowa. The storms spread from north Texas into the upper Midwest. The focus of severe weather will shift into the Great Lakes and eastern seaboard today. The first tornado of the season was even reported in southern Manitoba yesterday north of Emerson. No damage was reported. Thunderstorms are expected in our region this afternoon as a cold front moves into the area. Some may feature gusty winds and brief heavy downpours. Expect the balance of the week to be sunny and seasonable.

The same weather system affecting souther Ontario today is expected to dump some snow on the northwest part of the province around Timmins tonight. Yesterday the low pressure gave much needed rainfall to the southern prairies with 25-50mm across southern Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

Frost possible tonight

High pressure will crest over eastern Ontario tonight and provide widespread frost in many region of the east and south and into southern and western Quebec. You are advised to protect tender growing items. It will be sunny and mild Friday (21C) before a stubborn low pressure area moves in for the weekend. While it will not be a washout, many regions will be chilly and damp all weekend. Monday should be sunny and warmer.

Frost Warning in effect...
http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/warnings/report_e.html?on13

You can download this Guide and tons of other great info at www.getprepared.gc.ca

Emergency Preparedness Week....

The title says it all. The theme this year is 72 hours. So prepare your family and home to survive at least 72 hours without outside help. The idea being that emergency response will be stretched to the limit, if you can sustain yourself for at least 72 hours, you take the pressure off the authorities and safety workers. That includes anything from a tornado to fire to something as simple as a short blackout.

It should be a dry and sunny but cool weekend here in Kemptville. The main storm track will go well to our south with thunderstorms and rain from the Mid-Atlantic south into Dixie. Out west heavy snow fell in Alberta again with over 30cm in the foothills. There was even hail, thunder and the report of either a tornado or severe straight line winds in Calgary with some damage.

Have a great weekend and Happy Mothers Day!

Death toll rises from Cyclone Nargis

The death toll has soared to over 25,000 from Cyclone Nargis that swept into Burma (Mayanmar) from The Bay of Bengal over the weekend. Relief efforts are slow at best and the death toll is expected to rise. The storm struck the coastal areas with a record storm surge and fierce winds comparable to a Category 3 Hurricane. It is being compared to the Asian Tsunami with fears of over 50,000 dead. The story has been slow to reach the rest of the world, but relief is now arriving. You can help at this link: http://www.redcross.ca/article.asp?id=000005&tid=003

Over 1 million are homeless with some in need of food, water and medical supplies.

It has been too long since my last entry and I apologize to all my readers for that. I have had to put weather on the back burner lately as other more pressing projects and challenges needed my attention. The weather in Ontario has been typical of early May. The weekends have been showery to my dismay. I have an official count going for how many weekends will be washed out from May 1 to September 30. We are 1-1 so far. Sadly I hope the trend is for more sunshine and warmer weather which appears to be trapped over the southern US. Speaking of the US, the deadly tornado season continues. A series of storms in Arkansas was responsible for numerous fatalities last week. It has been a terrible year so far with 24 deaths in Arkansas.