David Spence
ctvdavidspence.bsky.social
David Spence
@ctvdavidspence.bsky.social
Meteorologist, ruralrootscanada.com. Retired after 40 years of weather forecasting at CTV Calgary. Cancer survivor. Patient and Family Advisor, AHS. Patient Partner, Riddell Centre, University of Calgary
Honoured to emcee the Alberta–NWT Royal Canadian Legion’s Remembrance Day Ceremony, the largest indoor service in Calgary, at the Jubilee Auditorium.

We must never forget the sacrifices that secured our freedom.
We will remember them. 🌺
#RemembranceDay #LestWeForget
November 5, 2025 at 11:42 PM
Meteorological fall (Sep, Oct, Nov) is underway. Calgary's meteorological summer (Jun, Jul, Aug) was a bit warmer and a lot wetter than average. The avg temp of 16.4 is less than a degree above the long term avg of 15.6. We had 318.8 mm of rain, which is 137% of average. Chart: CPC
September 2, 2025 at 1:30 PM
In Calgary, August was both warmer and drier than average. The mean temp of 17.7 is a degree and a half above the long term average of 16.2. We had 48.6 mm of rain, which is slightly below the long term average of 53.5 mm. Map from CPC: temperature departures from avg.
September 1, 2025 at 10:45 PM
I'm an author! (sort of). Excited to share that I wrote the weather content for the 2026 Almanac edition of the iconic Canadian magazine Harrowsmith. It was so much fun to work on this, and I'm very thankful for the opportunity. It goes on sale today (July 28).
July 28, 2025 at 6:03 PM
The convective nature of last night's rainstorm meant a huge variation in rain totals across #Calgary. Accumulations varied from neighborhood to neighborhood, even from street to street. Here are some totals collected from CoCoRaHs and Tempest weather stations. #abstorm
July 19, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Calgary was considerably warmer and slightly drier than average in June. The avg. temp in June 2025 was 15.2, compared to the 30 year avg. of 13.7. Precip in June 2025 totaled 102.7 mm, which is 91% of the long term avg. of 112.7 mm. #yyc #yycwx #yycweather
July 1, 2025 at 8:02 PM
A lot of rain, a lot of wind. Saturday storm stats from ECCC:
#abstorm
June 22, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Rain! Totals in Alberta as of 8:00 this morning, as measured by CoCoRahs volunteer observers. Find out more...become a volunteer: cocorahs.org #abstorm
June 13, 2025 at 8:09 PM
Tomorrow, June 7, is Stroke Awareness Day. I am honoured to return as emcee for an event hosted by the Stroke Recovery Association of Calgary in the auditorium at Foothills Hospital. If you are a stroke patient, or someone caring for a stroke patient, we hope to see you tomorrow.
June 6, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Just an hour from my house. And yet, it’s been two years. After the absence, I’ve never appreciated this more. #alberta
May 29, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Thrilled to be a co-presenter at the Northwest SPOR forum next week at the BMO Centre! We'll speak about the role of Patient and Family Advisors in developing "In Between", an online module for newly diagnosed cancer patients. Hope to see you there!
May 9, 2025 at 6:17 PM
I really should be doing my taxes. Or fertilizing my lawn. Or seeing a podiatrist.

The dog’s name is Lenny.
April 15, 2025 at 10:04 PM
I'm excited to announce the weekly Rural Roots Canada Farm Weather outlooks I've been doing for the past few months on CJOC and The Ranch in Lehtbridge, are now being heard on Vista radio stations in Olds, Vegreville, and Bonnyville! Weather outlooks Mondays - farm news weekdays.
April 13, 2025 at 9:13 PM
Environment Canada confirms an EF0 landspout tornado yesterday near Rolling Hills AB. #abstorm
April 13, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Now that wasn't so bad, was it? In last Thursday's update at ruralrootscanada,com, I posted these charts, showing the colder extremes of the prairie winter just ended. I'll post a new weekly weather forecast Monday morning. #abstorm #skstorm #mbstorm
March 23, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Happy first day of Spring!!! Fun fact found while researching my next @RuralRootsCda post: for the first time since the winter of 2016-17, the #Calgary temperature failed to drop below -30 this winter. The post will be ready later this afternoon.
March 20, 2025 at 6:35 PM
59 years ago today, on March 4, 1966, when I was 5, a historic blizzard hit Winnipeg. Officially, there was 35.6 cm of snow, but 113 km/h winds created drifts as high as roofs. My dad shot this home movie. The car: his 1961 Mercury Meteor 600. #mbstorm #blizzard
March 4, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Thanks to the 19 day deep freeze, February in #Calgary was MUCH colder and a bit wetter than average. Avg temp in Feb 2025 was -12.5. That's 6.6 degrees below the long term average of -5.9. #yyc measured 15.0 mm of precip. Long term avg is 11.8.
March 2, 2025 at 3:35 PM
We made it through meteoroloical winter! Today, March 1, is the first day of meteorological spring,. Astronomical spring begins March 20th. In #Calgary, at the beginning of the month, the sun sets tonight at 6:17. Daylight Saving Time begins Mar 9, and by Mar 31, the sun doesn't set until 8:08.
March 1, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Artificial Intelligence is now part of weather forecasting, courtesy of the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting. It's a new tool in our kit. The future impact? Uncertain. Here's an AI 10-day forecast for Calgary. #yyc #abstorm #abwx #yycwx
February 27, 2025 at 5:38 PM
ONE LAST FLIPPIN’ COLD DAY. In Calgary, we’re 13 degrees below average so far in February. This changes tonight, as temperatures begin to rise. Tomorrow’s bar on this chart will be red (above avg) - the first of many. #yyc
February 19, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Tremendous pleasure talking with tremendous people this morning at the Farming Smarter conference in #Lethbridge. Great to meet the folks who feed our world. Subjects: drought, weather models, cats, chickens, and a dog named Jinx. Ag weather always at ruralrootscanada.com
February 13, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Not a surprise to learn January in #Calgary was warmer than average. The average temperature was -4.0....long term average is -7.6. La Nina has since kicked in, and February has begun cold. The map on the right shows #yyc temps for the next 3 months should be near or below average. #yyc
February 2, 2025 at 3:03 PM
More snow along the US Gulf Coast (circled) this week than across most of Canada! At least according to this map, which shows expected snow from now until the evening of Sunday Jan 26. Quite remarkable how much of North America can expect snow in the next seven days. #snow #winter #lanina
January 19, 2025 at 8:15 PM
We're nearing the 1/2 way point in January, and #Calgary has yet to drop to -30C. The last time we had a winter in which we didn't get to -30.0 was 2016/2017. This chart shows the dates -30 was first reached in the winters since. Data: ECCC #yyc
January 14, 2025 at 7:43 PM