Deadly wildfires in California

Wildfires destroy entire neighbourhoods in Santa Rosa, CA, USA, 11 Oct 2017 (Getty Images)

Fire officials say wildfires will get worse before getting better in the wine country of northern California.

High winds and dry conditions have fuelled the flames destroying entire neighbourhoods in Santa Rosa and at least 13 wineries been either damaged or completely wiped out.

The death toll stands at about 30 with many residents being found in their homes not being able to escape the fires.

More than 3,500 homes and buildings have been destroyed so far and firefighters continue knocking on doors trying to evacuate thousands more being affected by the catastrophic blazes.

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Tornado touches down in Alberta

Tornado swirling near Three Hills, AB, 02 June 2017 (TWN/Twitter)

A large tornado touched down in central Alberta near Three Hills on Friday afternoon amid severe thunderstorms.

Environment Canada had issued a tornado warning for the region which lasted about half an hour.

Officials say wind speeds up to 130 km/h caused damage to trees, roofs and buildings but no one was hurt.

Acadian Peninsula hit again

Severe thunderstorm, Caraquet, NB, 18 May 2017 (R.Mallais/Twitter)

After a severe ice storm in February, the Acadian Peninsula has been hit with bad weather again and this time by possible tornadoes.

Environment Canada is investigating after social media showed downed power poles, partially collapsed roofs and overturned concrete last night.

Severe thunderstorms can cause straight line winds with gusts as high as 130 km/h which is the same strength as the lowest level of tornado.

NB Power is working to restore electricity for thousands in northeastern New Brunswick and it could be sometime tomorrow before full restoration occurs.

The same frontal trough of low pressure moved into Greater Moncton this afternoon creating a 9 degree temperature drop (23 C to 14 C) in less than an hour and a wind direction change from southwest to northeast.

Nor’easter replacing frigid air

The last week of winter in New Brunswick has felt more like January than March but that frigid air is about to be replaced by a powerful Nor’easter forming off the U.S. Eastern Seaboard from two low pressure systems.

Overnight temperatures plunged to -20.1 C in Greater Moncton on the weekend which is close to a record low and daytime highs remained well below freezing with dangerous wind chills as low as -35 at times.

Environment Canada says heavy snow and winds creating blowing snow will move into southwestern New Brunswick Tuesday afternoon and spread to the remainder of the province in the evening.

Snow will likely change to rain by early Wednesday with most areas of the province expected to receive up to 30 cm of snow.

Before the storm reaches the Maritimes, forecasters say the Nor’easter could drop between 30 and 50 cm of snow in the U.S. Northeast from Washington DC to New York to Boston.

Blizzard buries northern Manitoba

A blizzard buries front entrance of hotel in Churchill, MB, 09 March 2017 (Twitter)

Blizzards are not uncommon in late winter across the Prairie Provinces but the latest one to grip northern Manitoba lasted three days and dumped 60 cm snow in Churchill with winds up to 120 km/h creating enormous nine metre drifts.

Canada’s Polar Bear Capital declared a local state of emergency in an effort to gain resources from higher levels of government to help deal with the clean up.

Environment Canada says the blizzard in Churchill lasted 58 hours which was the third longest since 1953.

The fierce combination of snow and wind also stranded six people on a highway near Thompson for three days.

Blizzard of 2017

Aftermath of Blizzard 2017 in Fredericton, 14 Feb 2017 (Facebook)

A monster blizzard packing winds of more than 100 km/h and dumping upwards of 80 cm of snow over the Maritimes has moved into Newfoundland.

Greater Moncton recorded about 40 cm of snow and had a peak wind gust of almost 70 km/h.

The Fredericton area received the most snow from this storm with about 80 cm while Grand Etang on Cape Breton Island had a peak wind gust of almost 150 km/h.

Emergency management officials closed highways to police vehicles, fire trucks and ambulances only.

Blizzard conditions persisted for at least 15 hours in some areas.

Other snowfall totals:

Halifax Stanfield Airport 54 cm

Greenwood, NS 61 cm

Charlottetown 40 cm

Saint John Airport 39 cm

Green Christmas in Nova Scotia

Not exactly a White Christmas in Truro, NS, 25 Dec 2016 (Dearing)

While most of New Brunswick was covered in snow on 25 December, many parts of Nova Scotia including Truro had a Green Christmas Day.

While there were a couple of snow squalls during the day which produced a trace or so, it was mostly sunny with a strong, cold wind in central Nova Scotia.

As a child growing up in this area, having a White Christmas was always a toss up with some years being snowy while other years were rainy.

More white is on the way as a Colorado Low approaches from the American Midwest and Central Canada with a mixed bag of precipitation expected.

Tropical system brings rain, wind, warmth

Irishtown Nature Park, Moncton, NB, 23 Oct 2016 (Dearing)

A cold front from the Great Lakes combined with a tropical low to bring rain, wind and warm temperatures to the Maritimes this weekend.

The heaviest amount of rain fell in the Halifax region with about 80 mm recorded, already-soaked Cape Breton got off relatively easily with 35 mm in Sydney.

Greater Moncton only received 16 mm of rain but winds were as gusty as 70 km/h and the temperature climbed to a balmy 20.5 C.

The hot spot in the Maritimes was in Cheticamp with a record high of 23.9 C.

Cooler than normal in N.B.

Evening sky in Moncton, 03 July 2016 (Dearing)

Greater Moncton typically reaches a daytime high of 25 C in early July but while it was 28 C yesterday, it was only 19 C today and perhaps slightly cooler tomorrow.

The below normal conditions – coming after several weeks of warm weather – are due to a chilly north wind and two low pressure systems merging over Atlantic Canada.

On a positive note, some needed rain is on the way after a recent dry spell in Southeastern New Brunswick.

Colin brushes Atlantic Canada

Post-Tropical Storm Colin, 08 June 2015 (CTV/Twitter)

By the time Colin had arrived in Canadian waters earlier today, it had become a post-tropical storm – essentially a strong low pressure system.

Much of Florida had received heavy rain from Colin before the storm moved into the Atlantic Ocean and tracked northeastward.

Wind was not a factor for the Maritimes but heavy rain fell in eastern Nova Scotia, Cape Breton Island and Newfoundland.

Greater Moncton received less than 20 mm of rain between remnants of Colin and another low pressure system which was crossing New Brunswick.

Colin was the third named storm of the 2016 Atlantic Hurricane Season – after Bonnie in late May and Alex in mid-January.