On the road data in Canada?

[Matthew Crowther]

OK, since we seem to have skipped over most of May and June and gone right into July or August, very intrepid and/or desperate chasers may find themselves up in our neighbour to the north in June- I have a query for those with experience chasing there. How do you obtain the in-car data that we have all grown to become so dependent on? Do cell-based internet services work up there? How about Threatnet? Or will there be a time warp of another sort where chasers are whisked back to the early 90's where you made your forecast in the morning and thereafter relied on your eyes and experience only?

 

[Brandon Brown]

I use cell based internet on a blackberry, obviously from a Canadian provider. I'm not sure about threatnet, maybe another fellow canuck can chime in about that. The foothills here in Alberta are a storm generating machine, so I don't really drive all that far to a target. If there was a southern Sask, or Manitoba set up, I'd be stopping at hotels, libraries, etc... for data since internet sticks here are expensive, you cant rely on the coverage in the middle of nowhere and you would have to have a plan set up for the amount of data you would be downloading.

 

[Patrick Boomer]

We have a good cell network up here, but you will find no hi res radar unless you have threat net. The radar data released to the public by Environment Canada is poor, similar to what Cuba provides it's citizens, but we do get echotops/cappi from NavCanada.
Most US chasers seem to wind up in the 100 miles or so north of the border in southern Saskatchewan and Manitoba where you can still get hi res radar from the US.
Quite 90's compared to what you guys get down there. Maybe 80's.

 

[John Hudson]

It's definitely "back to basics" chasing up here, and the best you can get data-wise is the lowest portion of the Prairies, as covered by the closest NEXRAD station.

Perhaps it would be worthwhile to get in touch with COD and find out what they use when they are chasing in Canada.


John
VE4 JTH