Gaspe Sky

by Linda Miller
(Wakeham, Gaspe, Quebec.)

Thought this was a very unusual cloud formation in the western sky. Pictures were taken in the morning of Sept. 8, in Wakeham, Gaspe, Quebec.

Barry's Response - I suppose in some locales, a straight edge like that is an unusual thing. In Calgary, however, where Chinook winds commonly occur on the lee side of the mountains, we see them quite often.

It shows a clear boundary between an area of subsidence and that of updraft at that level. Thanks for the photos, Linda.

Gaspé lies at the end of the Gaspé Peninsula, the part of Quebec that sticks out eastward south of the St. Lawrence River. It's a city of 15,000 and has a long history as a pivotal point in the development of Francophone Canada. In 1534 Jacques Cartier landed there and claimed it with "Vive le Roi de France".

How's the air out there?

This place experiences a Dfb climate (Humid Continental with relative short warm summers). It's rarely hot, but they once had a temperature of 35°C (95°F). It's more often cold...-47°C once. They typically have about a foot and a half of snow on the ground throughout the winter, which ends in April.

It can be quite windy on the coast as well, with the windiest month being March. Go see Gaspé, Quebec sometime. I would pick mid-summer.

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