Chill out

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This article was published 26/11/2015 (3067 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Let’s face it, there’s always going to be a certain amount of trepidation in preparing to attend a Grey Cup game in Winnipeg.

At a certain point in the game, you’re invariably going to wish you’d added just one more layer of Lycra.

Winnipeg has had a beautiful, unseasonably mild fall until temperatures dropped precipitously mid-week.

But no fear.

Investors Group Field will have the most accurate and location-specific weather forecasting ever for a Grey Cup game, thanks to two weather sensor installations from Winnipeg company Precision Weather Solutions (PWS).

And the good news is, it’s going to be downright balmy for late November on the Prairies Sunday.

The PWS weather stations at the stadium have been pumping out hourly forecasts for days now and will continue to do so through the course of the game.

Thursday afternoon, Guy Ash, the co-founder and chief meteorologist of PWS said, “Right now I can see the temperature will be zero degrees (Celsius) at around 3 to 4 p.m. (Sunday) and will drop to minus six as the game goes on. And by noon the winds will shift from east to south.”

Sounds like that Canada Goose extreme weather parka won’t be necessary after all.

The forecasts continually update every hour with slight adjustments all the time.

“Over the course of the week, the forecasts has been from plus one to minus three (Celsius),” said Ash, who will be available on-site at game time if needed. “As Grey Cups go that is pretty good weather.”

Weather conditions might keep fans away from any outdoor game, but the team and facilities managers also have fan and player safety to consider.

“There is a huge insurance component,” said Suzi Bonk, a business consultant and Ash’s partner in PWS. “There have been many instances at public settings where there has been a wind event. If you know that information, you can prepare and keep players and fans safe. There are business and brand implications.”

PWS has its systems installed at every outdoor Canadian Football League stadium.

Earlier this year, a game in Hamilton had to be delayed because of lightning during game time over the field.

Lightning on the Prairies at this time of the year is not an issue, but temperature and wind chill are.

The league has game time limits on both, so stadium officials have to get it right.

Paulo Senra, the CFL’s director of communications, said “By working with PWS, we gain access to accurate forecasting, lightning tracking software and the ability to speak to an experienced meteorologist for pre-game and in-game advice. As you can imagine, this is vital information to have before and during the Grey Cup game.”

In fact, it’s also super valuable to get an accurate forecast on weather conditions in the days leading up to the game.

Kelly Keith, IGF’s director of security and volunteers, said the PWS service adds plenty of peace of mind.

“They have been giving us weather updates every day for the last couple of weeks,” said Keith. “Even the updates for cleaning of the stadium are helpful. So it’s not just for game day. It can prepare us for any precipitation in advance.”

PWS was launched in 2013 and has a growing install base across Western Canada and into the U.S. with agricultural clients, recreational facilities and all sorts of commercial applications.

Its clients can customize alerts — for certain levels of precipitation, wind speed, gusts, temperatures and host of other things — and the company has a range of reports and services.

But the key element is the data and the forecasts are for a very precise location and in real-time data rather than having to rely on information from 30 kilometres away that may be many hours old.

The big data capabilities will be strategic over time. Soon there will be such storehouses of information, it can start to have an impact on the planning of municipal infrastructure.

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Part of the reason it is warmer than usual this fall in Winnipeg is because of an El Ni±o.

“That kind of climate variability affects situations,” said Bonk. “If you don’t have localized weather data, you can’t respond in a timely fashion. When you build new municipal infrastructure, you need to know what the new weather patterns are.”

Regardless of how accurate PWS’s forecast is for Grey Cup Sunday, Bonk just hopes the weather is nice.

“I’ve been rooting for us to have really great weather this weekend,” she said. “It would just be nice, for once, if people didn’t talk about how cold it is Winnipeg.”

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca

Martin Cash
Reporter

Martin Cash has been writing a column and business news at the Free Press since 1989. Over those years he’s written through a number of business cycles and the rise and fall (and rise) in fortunes of many local businesses.

   Read full biography