26 February 2011 - Conditions at 7:37 AM: -5.3C, Clear, Wind: NW 35 gust 55 km/h

It was a wet and windy here yesterday with torrential rainfall in the late afternoon and evening.Winds were very strong through most of the day and the high was +8C.The wind calmed down somewhat in the late evening and temps dropped to below freezing overnight.A few flurries moved through during the overnight hours leaving a slight coating on the ground.

This morning it is quite cold and temps are expected to remain below 0 for the day.Winds will be brisk giving uncomfortable windchill values.Flurries are expected over the next few days but warmer weather is on the way early next week.

Forecasts for our area issued by Environment Canada :

(Normals: Max +1C / Min -8C)

Today

Snow ending early this morning then a mix of sun and cloud. Local blowing snow early this morning. Wind northwest 50 km/h gusting to 80. Temperature falling to minus 6 this morning then steady.

Tonight

Cloudy periods. Wind northwest 40 km/h gusting to 60 becoming light this evening. Low minus 12.

Sunday

Increasing cloudiness. Flurries beginning in the morning and ending late in the afternoon. High minus 4.

Monday

Flurries. Low minus 6. High zero.

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The marine forecast:

Storm warning in effect.

Freezing spray warning in effect.

Wind northerly 25 to 30 knots increasing to northwest 40 to 50 early

 this morning then diminishing to 35 near noon. Wind diminishing to

 northwest 25 to 30 this afternoon and to 15 to 20 near midnight.

 Wind diminishing to light overnight then becoming east 15 Sunday

 afternoon. A few flurries ending this morning. Chance of flurries

 beginning Sunday morning. Freezing spray beginning this morning and

 ending near midnight. Temperatures plus 4 falling to minus 5 this

 morning.

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Today’s Weather Trivia:

26 February 1914: A violent, twisting wind struck Claresholm, AB, damaging a building and the curling rink. The rink's roof blew into a house, smashing windows, china, and furniture and causing a large beam to fall, just missing a little girl in bed. Dozens of buggies, including a $180 show buggy, wagons, and carts were blown 100s of metres. Curlers mourned their rink, as there'd be no more curling.-Excerpt from 'The Canadian Weather Trivia Calendar' by David Phillips. © Environment Canada

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Sky Events:

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ISS visible sightings:

		LOCAL		DURATION	MAX ELEV		APPROACH º		DEPARTURE º
	Sat Feb 26 07:12 PM		3			23		18 above NW		16 above NNE

THE FOLLOWING SHUTTLE SIGHTINGS ARE POSSIBLE FROM THU FEB 24 TO THU MAR 10

SATELLITE	LOCAL	DURATION	MAX ELEV	APPROACH	DEPARTURE
	DATE/TIME	(MIN)	(DEG)	(DEG-DIR)	(DEG-DIR)

SHUTTLE	Fri Feb 25/07:14 PM	1	19	15 above NW	18 above N
SHUTTLE	Sat Feb 26/07:13 PM	3	23	18 above NW	16 above NNE
SHUTTLE	Sun Feb 27/07:39 PM	1	19	16 above NNW	18 above N
SHUTTLE	Mon Feb 28/06:29 PM	3	22	15 above NW	15 above NNE
SHUTTLE	Mon Feb 28/08:06 PM	1	17	15 above NNW	17 above NNW
SHUTTLE	Tue Mar 01/06:56 PM	2	19	16 above NNW	16 above NNE
SHUTTLE	Wed Mar 02/07:23 PM	2	21	15 above NNW	18 above NE
SHUTTLE	Thu Mar 03/07:48 PM	2	30	15 above NW	30 above N
SHUTTLE	Fri Mar 04/06:39 PM	3	21	15 above NNW	15 above NE
SHUTTLE	Fri Mar 04/08:15 PM	1	25	20 above NW	25 above NW
SHUTTLE	Sat Mar 05/07:05 PM	4	33	15 above NW	18 above ENE
SHUTTLE	Sun Mar 06/07:32 PM	2	80	25 above NW	43 above ESE
SHUTTLE	Mon Mar 07/07:59 PM	1	32	24 above W	32 above SW
SHUTTLE	Tue Mar 08/06:50 PM	3	88	32 above WNW	16 above ESE
SHUTTLE	Wed Mar 09/07:16 PM	2	28	26 above WSW	16 above SSE

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The star clusters M46 and M47 are in good view this evening, not far to the left or lower left of Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, which is high in the south at nightfall. Under dark skies, M47 is just visible as a hazy patch of light.

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AURORA (‘Northern Lights’) WATCH: Auroral activity will be QUIET.

25 February 2011 - Conditions at 6:49 AM: +3.5C, Overcast, Wind: SSW 24 km/h

Yesterday was mostly sunny with temps a couple of degrees above freezing for highs.The evening was generally clear with temps dropping to slightly below freezing.Overnight temps rose ahead of an approaching storm.

Heavy rains are expected today along with high winds.Temps are expected to drop later today and a change to snow is possible.

Forecasts for our area issued by Environment Canada :

(Normals: Max +1C / Min -8C)

Rainfall warning in effect.

Today

Cloudy. A few flurries early this morning. Rain beginning near noon. Rainfall amount 10 mm. Fog patches developing this afternoon. Wind southwest 30 km/h gusting to 50. High 8.

Tonight

Rain at times heavy changing to snow overnight. Rainfall amount 30 mm. Fog patches dissipating overnight. Wind southwest 30 km/h gusting to 50 becoming south 60 gusting to 80 this evening then northwest 50 gusting to 80 overnight. Low minus 7.

Saturday

Snow ending early in the morning then a mix of sun and cloud with 60 percent chance of flurries. Wind northwest 50 km/h gusting to 80 diminishing to 30 gusting to 50 in the evening. High minus 5.

Sunday

A mix of sun and cloud. Low minus 12. High minus 5.

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The marine forecast:

Storm warning in effect.

Freezing spray warning in effect.

Wind southwest 15 to 20 knots backing to south 15 near noon then

 increasing to 25 this afternoon. Wind increasing to south 45 this

 evening then veering to southwest 35 after midnight. Wind increasing

 to northwest 50 overnight then diminishing to 35 Saturday morning.

 Wind diminishing to west 30 Saturday afternoon. Rain at times heavy

 and fog beginning near noon changing to rain near midnight then to a

 few flurries Saturday morning and ending Saturday morning. Freezing

 spray beginning Saturday afternoon. Temperatures plus 1 rising to

 plus 6 after midnight then falling to minus 4 Saturday afternoon.

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Today’s Weather Trivia:

25 February 2003: Residents in northeastern New Brunswick had heard loud, cracking noises over several nights. Some thought they were earthquakes, but seismologists discounted that. Others felt it was breaking ice and snow crust. However, because a sharp inversion had formed overnight with the Arctic air mass, noises would be heard much farther away, as sound easily carries below an inversion.-Excerpt from 'The Canadian Weather Trivia Calendar' by David Phillips. © Environment Canada

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Sky Events:

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ISS visible sightings:

		LOCAL		DURATION	MAX ELEV		APPROACH º		DEPARTURE º
	Fri Feb 25 6:46 PM		3			40		32 above WNW		17 above NE

THE FOLLOWING SHUTTLE SIGHTINGS ARE POSSIBLE FROM THU FEB 24 TO THU MAR 10

SATELLITE	LOCAL	DURATION	MAX ELEV	APPROACH	DEPARTURE
	DATE/TIME	(MIN)	(DEG)	(DEG-DIR)	(DEG-DIR)

SHUTTLE	Fri Feb 25/07:14 PM	1	19	15 above NW	18 above N
SHUTTLE	Sat Feb 26/07:13 PM	3	23	18 above NW	16 above NNE
SHUTTLE	Sun Feb 27/07:39 PM	1	19	16 above NNW	18 above N
SHUTTLE	Mon Feb 28/06:29 PM	3	22	15 above NW	15 above NNE
SHUTTLE	Mon Feb 28/08:06 PM	1	17	15 above NNW	17 above NNW
SHUTTLE	Tue Mar 01/06:56 PM	2	19	16 above NNW	16 above NNE
SHUTTLE	Wed Mar 02/07:23 PM	2	21	15 above NNW	18 above NE
SHUTTLE	Thu Mar 03/07:48 PM	2	30	15 above NW	30 above N
SHUTTLE	Fri Mar 04/06:39 PM	3	21	15 above NNW	15 above NE
SHUTTLE	Fri Mar 04/08:15 PM	1	25	20 above NW	25 above NW
SHUTTLE	Sat Mar 05/07:05 PM	4	33	15 above NW	18 above ENE
SHUTTLE	Sun Mar 06/07:32 PM	2	80	25 above NW	43 above ESE
SHUTTLE	Mon Mar 07/07:59 PM	1	32	24 above W	32 above SW
SHUTTLE	Tue Mar 08/06:50 PM	3	88	32 above WNW	16 above ESE
SHUTTLE	Wed Mar 09/07:16 PM	2	28	26 above WSW	16 above SSE

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The five stars in the middle of the Big Dipper -- Mizar, Alioth, Megrez, Phad, and Merak -- are all members of the Ursa Major Moving Group. These stars were born about 500 million years ago and originally formed a tight cluster. Today, though, the cluster is so spread out that the stars are no longer bound together.

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AURORA (‘Northern Lights’) WATCH: Auroral activity will be QUIET.

24 February 2011 - Conditions at 6:40 AM: -5.5C, Overcast, Wind: NW 9 km/h

Yesterday was a sunny but cool day with high temps near 0C and brisk northerly winds.The wind died out in the evening and temps dropped to a few degrees below freezing.

Today is expected to be similar to yesterday.Heavy rain is on the way for tomorrow with mild temps.

Forecasts for our area issued by Environment Canada :

(Normals: Max +1C / Min -9C)

Today

Cloudy. Clearing this morning. High zero.

Tonight

A few clouds. Increasing cloudiness after midnight with 30 percent chance of flurries overnight. Wind southwest 30 km/h gusting to 50. Low minus 4 with temperature rising to zero by morning.

Friday

Cloudy. Flurries and rain showers beginning in the morning changing to rain at times heavy in the afternoon. Rainfall amount 20 mm. Wind southwest 30 km/h gusting to 50 becoming southeast 50 gusting to 80 early in the evening. High plus 5.

Saturday

Periods of rain or snow. Windy. Low zero. High zero.

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The marine forecast:

Gale warning in effect.

Wind north 15 knots diminishing to light this morning then increasing

 to southwest 15 to 20 early this evening. Wind backing to south 15

 near noon Friday then increasing to 35 Friday evening. Rain at times

 heavy and fog beginning near noon Friday. Temperatures minus 6 to

 minus 3 rising to plus 5 Friday evening.

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Today’s Weather Trivia:

24 February 2006: Countless 1000s of dead seabirds (Northern fulmars, western grebes, common murres, and rhinoceros auklets) mysteriously washed ashore along the British Columbia coast. Scientists speculated their deaths were associated with warmer weather and changes in winds and currents which may have reduced the availability of their marine food. Some of the birds were emaciated.-Excerpt from 'The Canadian Weather Trivia Calendar' by David Phillips. © Environment Canada

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Sky Events:

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ISS visible sightings:

		LOCAL	DURATION		MAX ELEV		APPROACH º		DEPARTURE º
	Thu Feb 24 06:21 PM			2		73		73 above E		16 above ENE

Thu Feb 24 07:55 PM

1

22

18 above NW

22 above NNW

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The pattern of stars known today as the Big Dipper has figured in the star lore of most cultures. It was seen as everything from a great bear to a plow to a drinking gourd. In the distant future, though, these pictures will vanish because the dipper's stars are moving in different directions.

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AURORA (‘Northern Lights’) WATCH: Auroral activity will be LOW.

23 February 2011 - Conditions at 7:12 AM: -7.5C, Clear, Wind: NW 14 km/h

Yesterday started out on the chilly side but warmed up to a degree or two above freezing by the afternoon.The day was generally sunny and winds were light.

The next couple of days are expected to be quiet but rain and/or snow is expected for Friday.No amounts have been issued yet.

Forecasts for our area issued by Environment Canada :

(Normals: Max +1C / Min -9C)

Today

Sunny with cloudy periods. Wind northwest 30 km/h gusting to 50. High minus 2.

Tonight

Cloudy periods. Wind northwest 20 km/h gusting to 40 becoming light overnight. Low minus 8.

Thursday

Sunny with cloudy periods. Wind becoming southwest 20 km/h early in the evening. High zero.

Friday

Snow or rain. Low minus 3. High plus 5.

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The marine forecast:

Freezing spray warning in effect.

Wind north 25 knots diminishing to 15 this evening and to light

 overnight. Wind becoming southwest 15 Thursday afternoon. Freezing

 spray ending this evening. Temperatures minus 4 rising to plus 2

 Thursday evening.

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Today’s Weather Trivia:

23 February 1996: Canadian meteorologists attending an American Meteorological Society meeting in Atlanta created a stir with their campaign, "If you have the instrument ... we've got the weather." They were trying to convince weather-instrument manufacturers that Canada has some of the world's worst weather and would be an excellent test site for their instruments, especially in Newfoundland. -Excerpt from 'The Canadian Weather Trivia Calendar' by David Phillips. © Environment Canada

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Sky Events:

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ISS visible sightings:

LOCAL

DURATION

MAX ELEV

APPROACH º

DEPARTURE º

Wed Feb 23/07:29 PM

2

43

28 above WNW

37 above N

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Dubhe, the star at the outer corner of the bowl of the Big Dipper, looks like a single point of light, but it actually consists of at least four stars, which form two pairs.

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AURORA (‘Northern Lights’) WATCH: Auroral activity will be QUIET.