Mike J Geisler

Hey, this song actually slaps!

Observed pyrocumulus clouds atop the Edith Lake wildfire, north of Swan Hills on Wednesday. Given windy, unstable conditions expected ahead of a cold front later today, pyrocumulonimbus development could be possible atop any intense wildfires in northern Alberta. #abfire

A concerning satellite image of Alberta today reveals there's very little snow across much of the boreal - highly unusual for this time of year. 🔥💣🚨 There was very little moisture received across the north this winter, where longer-term drought already exists. Barring any major precip events, we are setting up for the potential of significant wildfire activity come the first hot and windy spell, as there is little snow to melt. This could kick off the season sometime in April. Even in the absence of drought, strong wind can easily drive flames through the upper canopy of the forest during the "spring dip", which occurs during the window of time between snow melt, and green-up. This year, the added effect of ongoing drought could support truly intense fire behaviour, given ignitions and favourable fire weather (hot, dry, windy). Most early season ignitions are human-caused, and therefore preventable. We'll need to be very careful this spring, and perhaps consider forest area closures should extreme fire weather occur for prolonged periods. A final wintry blast is likely for southern Alberta in the coming days, which will bring some much-needed moisture to the mountains and adjacent plains, but the north will largely miss out on it. Once we warm up again, fire season will likely begin. How severe it gets will depend largely on human activity and weather conditions. #abfire #abstorm