Weather Related Events

   There are many types of dangerous weather, and in order to protect us, the Government of Canada issues warning about such weather so that we can be prepared. Environment Canada issues warning about ten different kinds of severe weather, wind, rain, snow, tornadoes, hurricanes, blizzards, winter storms, thunderclouds, temperature (perceived and real), and air quality. There are three levels of alerts that they use, advisory, or special weather statement, watch, and warning. An advisory is a statement about a strange occurrence, or something that cannot be explained in a normal forecast. A watch is a warning that the dangerous weather in question is likely to occur due to favorable conditions for its formation. A warning is saying that the weather in question is going to happen, or is happening and to take precations accordingly.
   Heavy wind, rain, and snow are fairly simple, such conditions can cause flooding, the uprooting of trees or the breaking of limbs, and a variety of other damages, there is a large variety in this category, things such as freezing rain, heavy snowfall, or high winds. These are reported differently across the country, on the coast, there are many more gradients of wind that are reported than inland, and some of these events are very specific, such as the arctic outflow.
   Temperature encompasses quick changes in temperature such as cold snaps and heat waves, as well as the indexes of percieved temerature like the humidex and wind chill, and dangerous extremes of temerature such as the statements we get every morning durring the winter about how long it will take for exposed skin to freeze.
   Air quality is all about non water weather, things like dust storms, and haze or smoke allerts, and in some places smog allerts.
  Tornadoes are small, fast moving vortexes that usually extend from sever thunderstorms, especially the classic anvil shaped ones and large circular super cells.
   Hurricanes are huge rotating storms that produce high wind, extremely heavy rainfall, and storm surges, they form over warm equatorial waters and rarely reach Canada, but some do occasionally make it to the east coast.
   Blizzards are very bad snowstorms that are characterized by high winds and blowing snow that obstructs sight. To be a blizzard a storm must have winds of at least 35 mile per hour (56km/h) and blowing snow that reduces visibility to 400m or less.
   Winter Storms are other sever winter weather events that do not meet the requirements for being a blizzard, but are still dangerous or potentially damaging.
   Thunder Storms are in most ways like heavy rain, but with the potential of dangerous lightning strikes that can light fires and even hit people directly, they are often accompanied by high winds and occasionally cause tornadoes.