#2999 "Singleton Sunrise with an Alberta Clipper on the Horizon"

#2999 "Singleton Sunrise with an Alberta Clipper on the Horizon" 
11 X 14 (inches).
Started at 9:00 am, Monday, February 9th, 2026.

Monday, February 9th, 2026, was very chilly. It was the last day of a cold Arctic outbreak. The cold was very much appreciated to combat some of the less tolerant invasive species. The spongy moth succumbs to temperatures below minus 29 Celsius. Sadly, ticks survive winter by entering a dormant state (diapause) and hiding in sheltered spots like leaf litter, soil, and brush, which insulates them from the extreme cold. Predictably, I will have tick encounters of the third-kind after the snow melts, but I am cautious and always hoping for a human vaccine to be developed. Until then we encourage the turkeys to forage nearby all year long. They eat ticks. There is no possum population at Singleton Lake yet, but they are on their way with climate change. 

Monday sunrise was at 7:16 am, exactly the time I took the inspirational picture. It was much too cold to paint outside, so I took a few photos in anticipation that I would make some time to paint. The sun had not yet reached the tips of the trees on the western shore of Singleton Lake. I was painting in the Studio before 9 am, working on the sunrise pictures that I had taken just a couple of hours before.   

The line of clouds on the western horizon at sunrise foretold milder weather. That band of altocumulus cloud was a deformation zone stretching perpendicular to the direction that the Alberta Clipper-type storm was moving. The surface winds were still light northerly as the ridge of high pressure had not yet reached Singleton. The smoke from Dale's chimney confirmed that wind direction. Thankfully, the smoke just flowed from the paintbrush with maybe two or three strokes.  

The Alberta Clipper is a fast-moving system and typically does not result in "warning criteria"  snow accumulations (15 cm within 12 hours), but the impacts on driving are comparable. Those impacts linger for the following day, especially where snowsqualls in the colder northwest flow behind the system blow onshore. The Great Lakes were partially frozen, so snowsqualls were not as serious as earlier in the winter. 

The water vapour image (above, lower left) was a classic example of a multi-layered deformation zone leading the warm conveyor belt and producing the cloud that I painted. 

I promoted the "Alberta Schooner" type system, which is slower than a clipper and quite likely to deliver more significant, warning-criteria snowfalls. That conceptual model, like others, did not catch on within the meteorological community. 

Appropriately, a Special weather statement was issued at 4:38 pm on Monday afternoon for "Period of snow expected Tuesday."

• What: Snowfall amounts of 5 to 10 cm; Reduced visibility at times in heavy snow.
• When: Beginning Tuesday morning and lasting through the afternoon. Possibly lasting into the evening for regions farther east.
• Additional information: An area of moderate to heavy snow will pass through portions of northeastern and southern Ontario on Tuesday.
• Response: Prepare for quickly changing and deteriorating travel conditions. Allow extra time for travel.

Apparently, the thinking was that this weather system was not a slower Alberta Schooner.

Tuesday was a snow day, and I was able to finish the Monday sunrise in the Studio. There was 20 centimetres of fresh snow on the ground. School buses were cancelled locally. Meteorology may not be as precise a science as nuclear physics... 

For this and much more art, click on Pixels or go straight to the Collections. Here is the new Wet Paint Collection. Thank you for reading, and stay well!

Warmest regards, and keep your paddle in the water,

Phil Chadwick