Thursday, April 29, 2010

Wild Prairie weather once again

It may be spring in the rest of the country but right now in parts of Alberta it looks more like the middle of winter. Nothing unusual for these parts and moisture in any form is mostly welcome, although snow is not great for commercial operations calving right now.
Reports say that areas needing it most have received a mixture of rain and snow (10 mm for Stettler area), with the effect of the storm system reaching east to Manitoba. Parts of Saskatchewan are expecting up to 50 mm of rain, with even more in Manitoba. Bring on the mud . . .
The power is flicking on and off and internet connections are down (with the good ol' portable internet stick to the rescue once again) as heavy, wet snow plays havoc with towers and wires.

Friday, April 16, 2010

Ken Munton makes Vulcan Advocate Front Page

Unfortunately, this claim to fame is because his cattle shed collapsed in the strong winds that have plagued most of Western Canada lately. Full story available HERE.
Copy as appears below:



Ken Munton inspects damage done to his open front cattle shed on Friday morning after strong winds the day before tore half the structure's roof off and collapsed much of the rest. He was in Calgary to see his granddaughter at the time of the incident, and found the mess when he returned to his acreage, which is located east of Vulcan. None of his livestock was hurt in the incident, and although Munton has wind insurance, it was too soon to estimate the total cost of the damage. Bill McMurtry, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, said that wind gusts in surrounding areas, like Claresholm and Lethbridge, were reaching upwards of the 90 kilometre per hour range during Thursday's storm, which then moved over to Saskatchewan, where that province was hit by 115 kilometre per hour wind gusts, McMurtry said. Simon Ducatel photo