Warm weekend brings lightning show

“That was enough to get those things going and sure enough, it looks like there were 60 some strikes in the province,” Lang told paNOW. “It’s not all that unusual to see lightning in October, but it’s usually closer to the beginning of the month.”

“I hope people enjoyed the fact that there was some lightning and got to see it because it reminds us there is still a glimpse of fall before winter sets in,” she said.

It’s been a comparatively quiet month for storm activity. Lang noted that only one other day appeared to have lightning activity which would equate to approximately 80 to 90 strikes so far this month.

A very low number if you compare it to the strikes accumulated in the high-activity months of July (192,000) and August (111,000) of this year.

Lang said that numbers can vary widely from year-to-year when comparing October’s. The weather service reported on 24 strikes last year, but a whopping 4,500 in 2016.

“In fall, you’re more likely to get thunderstorms, but if you’re having a cool fall the probability gets lower,” she explained.

What might come as a surprise to some is that the winter season is not without its risk.

“They’re very rare in December, January, February because the air masses are so cold. But we know, if we get something coming up from the south that has energy, we can get ‘thunder-snows,’” she said.

Despite the proximity of Saturday’s strikes, the city of Prince Albert recorded no damage related to the lightning.

Lightning activity Oct. 19, 2019. (Submitted Photo/ Environment and Climate Change Canada)

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Ron.quaroni@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @RonaldQuaroni

by Ronald Quaroni

Warm weekend brings lightning show

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