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![New Releases Archive](/web/20060209014321im_/http://www2.ec.gc.ca/images/titles/title_news_arch_e.gif)
Top Weather Events of the 20th Century
1900-1920
- Rogers Pass Avalanche - March 5, 1910. Sixty-two train men and labourers
perished 2 km west of Rogers Pass, BC, when their engine was hit by an avalanche
and hurtled 500 metres into Bear Creek. Over 600 volunteers used pick axes and
shovels to dig through 10 m of snow in the search for survivors.
- World's Worst Iceberg Accident - April 15, 1912. The unsinkable
Titanic collided with an iceberg 700 km southeast of Newfoundland, causing the
death of 1,500 people and making headlines around the world.
- Deadliest Canadian Tornado - June 30, 1912. A late afternoon tornado
slashed through six city blocks in Regina, killing up to 40 people, injuring 300
others, destroying 500 buildings and leaving a quarter of the population
homeless. Better known as the "Regina Cyclone", the tornado lasted
three minutes but it took 46 years to pay for the damages.
- Black Sunday Storm - November 7-13, 1913. One of the most severe Great
Lakes storms on record swept winds of 140 km/h over lakes Erie and Ontario,
taking down 34 ships and 270 sailors. Days later, the crew of one ship was found
lashed to the mast, frozen to death -- only the ship survived.
- Storm Claims Sealers - April 1, 1914. Seventy-seven sealers froze to
death during a violent storm on the ice off the southeast coast of Labrador. At
the height of the storm, from March 31 to April 2, the temperature was -23°C
with winds from the northwest at 64 km/h.
- Fog Causes Ship Collision - May 29, 1914. Shallow river fog contributed
to the collision of two ships -- the CP Liner Empress of Ireland and a Norwegian
coal ship, The Storstad -- in the St. Lawrence River, 300 km seaward from Quebec
City. The liner sank in 25 minutes, and 1,024 passengers lost their
lives.
- Victoria's Snowstorms of the Century - February 2, 1916 and December
28-29, 1996. Huge snowstorms, 80 years apart, clobbered Canada's
"snow-free" city with more than 55 cm of snow. The December storm
dropped 80 cm of snow in 24 hours, 125 cm in five days with cleanup costs
exceeding $200 million (including a record insurance payout for BC of $80
million).
- Killer Lightning - July 29, 1916. Lightning ignited a forest fire which
burned down the towns of Cochrane and Matheson, Ontario, killing 233
people.
- Princess Sophia Sinks off BC - October 23, 1918. A Canadian steamship
carrying miners from Yukon and Alaska became stranded on Vanderbilt Reef.
Rescuers were unable to remove the 268 passengers and 75 crewmen due to a strong
northerly gale. The next day, weather conditions worsened and the ship sank
killing all on board.
1921-1940
- August Gale Kills 56 in Newfoundland - August 24-25, 1927. A hurricane
swept through Atlantic Canada washing out roads, filling basements, and swamping
boats. In Newfoundland, 56 people died at sea.
- Multiple Tornadoes hit Southern Manitoba - June 22, 1922. Hot and humid
air led to the development of several tornadoes in the area. Five deaths and
hundreds of injuries were attributed to the event which caused $2 million in
1922 dollars.
- Dustbowl Era - 1930s. Between 1933 and 1937, the Prairies experienced
only 60% of its normal rainfall. Thousands of livestock were lost to starvation
and suffocation, crops withered and 250,000 people across the region abandoned
their land to seek better lives elsewhere.
- Great Lakes Freighter Hit by Lightning - June 26, 1930. Lightning struck
the bow of the John B. King drillship in the St. Lawrence River, igniting a
store of dynamite onboard. The explosion killed 30 people and injured 11
others.
- Ontario's Coldest Day on Record - December 29, 1933. Fourteen sites
recorded their coldest-ever temperature, including Ottawa at -38.9°C and
Algonquin Park at -45.0°C. Outside Ontario, record cold temperatures were
also set in Manitoba, Quebec and Nova Scotia.
- Cold Wave Grips Eastern North America - February 1934. A cold wave
engulfed the continent from Manitoba to the Atlantic seaboard and down the east
coast to Palm Beach, Florida. Ice trapped fishing vessels off Nova Scotia,
hospitals were jammed with frostbite victims and, for only the second time in
recorded history, Lake Ontario froze completely over.
- Cold Wave Freezes Victoria and BC's Lower Mainland - January 19-29,
1935. Winter weather gripped Vancouver, with temperatures dipping to
-16° and snowfall greater than 40 cm. While the extreme cold caused fuel
shortages and frozen water supplies, a quick thaw followed by 267 mm of rain
over the next four days added extensive roof damage across the city, including
the collapse of the Forum -- the city's main hockey and curling rink.
- The Deadliest Heat Wave in History - July 5-17, 1936. Temperatures
exceeding 44°C in Manitoba and Ontario claimed 1,180 Canadians (mostly the
elderly and infants) during the longest, deadliest heat wave on record. Four
hundred of these deaths were caused by people who drowned seeking refuge from
the heat. In fact, the heat was so intense that steel rail lines and bridge
girders twisted, sidewalks buckled, crops wilted and fruit baked on
trees.
- Hottest Day on Record - July 5, 1937. The highest temperature ever
recorded in Canada was reached at Midale and Yellowgrass, Saskatchewan when the
mercury soared to 45°C.
1941-1960
- Eastern Ontario's Freezing Rain Storm - December 28-30, 1942.
Ice "as thick as a person's wrist" covered telephone wires,
trees and railway tracks. In Ottawa, 50,000 workers walked to work for five
days. Because of the war, there were few men available to clear the streets and
repair lines.
- Toronto's Worst Single-Day Snowfall - December 11, 1944. A severe
winter storm dumped 48 cm of snow on Toronto's downtown, while gale-force
winds piled the snow into huge drifts. A total of 57.2 cm fell over two days. In
all, 21 people died -- 13 from overexertion. Funerals were postponed, expectant
mothers walked to hospitals, and there were no home deliveries of milk, ice or
fuel. Of major concern, factories producing war ammunitions had to close
temporarily.
- Windsor's Killer Tornado - June 17, 1946. The third worst killer tornado
in Canadian history reared up across the Detroit River, killing 17 people and
demolishing or damaging 400 homes in Windsor and the surrounding county. The
tornado also took down 150 barns and farm buildings, and uprooted hundreds of
orchard trees and full-grown woodlots.
- Worst Blizzard in Canadian Railway History - January 30 to February 8,
1947. A ten-day blizzard buried towns and trains from Winnipeg to Calgary,
causing some Saskatchewan roads and rail lines to remain plugged with snow until
spring. Children stepped over power lines to get to school and built tunnels to
get to the outhouse. A Moose Jaw farmer had to cut a hole in the roof of his
barn to get in to feed his cows.
- Coldest Temperature in North America - February 3, 1947. The temperature
in Snag, Yukon dipped to -63°C, establishing Canada's reputation for
extreme cold.
- BC's Worst Flood of the Century - May-June 1948. BC's Fraser
River overflowed, drowning 10, inundating 22,200 hectares , destroying 2,300
homes and forcing 16,000 to flee. Row boats were the only means of
transportation in much of the Fraser Valley, and for three weeks Vancouver had
no rail connection with the rest of Canada.
- Red River Flood - Spring 1950. Described as the greatest flood disaster
in Canadian history, the Red River crested at 9.2 m above normal near Winnipeg.
While 100,000 people were evacuated from Southern Manitoba, miraculously only
one drowning was reported. Losses included damage to 5,000 homes and buildings,
totaling $550 M in property losses. . The Manitoba government decided to
construct the Winnipeg Floodway to forestall future flooding.
- First Person on Canadian Television - A Weatherperson! - September 8,
1954. Canadian television made its debut on this day, and meteorologist
Percy Saltzman was the first person to appear on screen. Saltzman continued to
present television weather for 22 years.
- Hurricane Hazel - October 15, 1954. Leaving a nightmare of destruction ,
Hazel dumped an estimated 300 million tonnes of rain on Toronto, causing lost
streets, washed out bridges and untold personal tragedy. In all, 83 people died
-- some bodies washing up on the shores of Lake Ontario in New York State days
later.
- Deadly Snowstorm in St. John's - February 16, 1959. A snowstorm
with strong winds created 7-metre drifts, blocking main streets and causing six
casualties. Another 70,000 Newfoundlanders were left without power, crippled
telephone service, and blocked highways, streets and railways. Scores of
motorists spent the night at homes along the highways after drifts buried their
stalled cars.
- Fishing Fleet Disaster off Esuminac, NB - June 20, 1959. More than 30
fishermen drowned in the worst storm disaster ever to hit the Gulf of St.
Lawrence fishing fleet. Twenty-two salmon boats sank by a sudden, smashing
north-easterly gale.
1961-1980
- West Records Single Driest Year - 1961. Many areas in the
drought-stricken Prairies received only 45% of normal precipitation. In Regina,
every month but May was drier than normal, and for the 12-month crop year the
precipitation total was the lowest ever. The duration, severity and size of the
area effectively made this drought the worst on record. Losses in wheat
production alone were $668 million, 30% more than in the previous worst year,
1936.
- Typhoon Freda Hits BC's Lower Mainland - October 12, 1962. Remnants
of Typhoon Freda struck BC's Lower Mainland, causing 7 deaths and damages
in excess of $10 million. Twenty percent of Stanley Park was flattened. In
Victoria, winds reached sustained speeds of 90 km/h with gusts to 145
km/h.
- Violent Storm Strikes Maritimes - December 1-2, 1964. One of the most
violent storms in years struck the Maritime provinces with gales reaching gust
speeds of 160 km/h. Three fishing boats, including two large draggers, were lost
in the storm accounting for the loss of 23 lives. Halifax and Charlottetown
recorded their all-time lowest sea-level pressure ever.
- "Great Blizzard" Lashes Southern Prairies - December 15, 1964.
Heavy snows, accompanied by 90 km/h winds and -34°C temperatures, paralyzed
the southern Prairies. Three people froze to death and thousands of animals
perished.
- Winnipeg's Snowstorm of the Century - March 4, 1966. This winter
blizzard dropped 35 cm of snow with winds blowing at 120 km/h, paralyzing the
city for two days. Winnipeg's mayor issued a warning for everyone to stay
at home. The drifting snow blocked all highways in southern Manitoba and forced
the cancellation of all air travel in and out of the Winnipeg airport.
- Blizzards in Southern Alberta - April 17-20 and 27-29, 1967. A series of
intense winter storms dropped a record 175 cm of snow on southern Alberta.
Thousands of cattle, unable to forage for food in the deep snow, perished on the
open range. Army units were dispatched to assist in snow clearing, while food,
fuel and feed were airlifted into the province. The good news? The Revenue
Minister announced that the income tax deadline for residents of southern
Alberta was extended two weeks to May 15.
- Greatest Rainfall in One Day - October 6, 1967. A one-day rainfall of
489.2 mm occurred at Ucluelet Brynnor Mines, BC - a Canadian weather record that
still stands.
- Montreal's Snowstorm of the Century - March 4, 1971. Montreal's
worst snowstorm killed 17 people and dumped 47 cm of snow on the city with winds
of 110 km/h producing second-storey drifts. Winds snapped power poles and felled
cables, cutting electricity for up to ten days in some areas. In total, the city
hauled away 500,000 truckloads of snow.
- Crater in Quebec Opens During Rainstorm - May 4, 1971. Tragedy struck the
village of St-Jean-Vianney, Quebec when heavy rains caused a sinkhole 600 m wide
and 30 m deep to appear in a residential area. The crater/mudslide killed 31
people and swallowed up 35 homes, a bus and several cars.
- Hurricane Beth Soaks Nova Scotia - August 15, 1971. Hurricane Beth
brought punishing winds and up to 300 mm of rain, causing considerable crop
damage and swamping highways and bridges, temporarily isolating communities on
the eastern mainland of Nova Scotia. More rain fell during Beth than during
Hazel in 1954.
- One Cold Year -1972. The only year on record when all weather-reporting
stations in Canada reported temperatures below normal on an annual basis.
- Another Killer Tornado in Windsor - April 3, 1974. Three hundred and
twenty three people died when a series of tornadoes struck 11 states in the U.S.
and Ontario within an eight-hour period. The tornadoes caused more than $1
billion dollars in damage. In Windsor, one funnel cloud touched down at several
locations taking eight lives at the Windsor Curling Club.
- Edmund Fitzgerald Sinks in Great Lakes Storm - November 10, 1975. A
severe storm causes the largest Great Lakes bulk ore carrier ever to break up
and sink in 20 m-high waves, killing the entire 29-man crew. Canadian musician
Gordon Lightfoot later immortalized the ship in a folk song.
- Groundhog Day Storm Batters Bay of Fundy - February 2, 1976. One of the
fiercest storms ever in the Maritimes slammed into Saint John, NB. Winds were
clocked at 188 km/h, generating 12-m waves and swells as high as 10 m.
Everything coated with salt spray for miles inland and huge chunks of coastline
eroded.
- Blizzard Isolates Iqaluit - February 8, 1979. Weather with -40°C
temperatures, 100 km/h winds and zero visibility in snow kept residents of
Iqaluit indoors for 10 days.
1981-1999
- Blizzard Maroons PEI - February 22-26, 1982. A huge snowstorm with up to
60 cm of snow, 100 km/h winds, zero visibility and wind chills of -35°C
paralyzed the Island for a week. The storm buried vehicles, snowplows and trains
in 5- to 7-metre drifts and cut off all ties with the mainland.
- Ocean Ranger Disaster - February 15, 1982. Bad weather caused the sinking
of the largest semi-submersible drilling rig in the world, 300 km east of
Newfoundland. In total, 84 people died in the world's second worst
disaster involving an offshore drill ship. Winds of 145 km/h, waves of 21 metres
and high seas hampered rescue efforts.
- Newfoundland Glaze Storm Cuts Power to 200,000 - April 13, 1984.
Residents of the Avalon Peninsula were without electricity for days when
cylinders of ice as large as 15 cm in diameter formed on overhead wires. The
severe, two-day ice storm covered all of southeastern Newfoundland with 25 mm of
glaze.
- Tornadoes in Barrie and Central Ontario - May 31, 1985. Three confirmed
tornadoes struck the Ontario communities of Barrie, Grand Valley, Orangeville
and Tottenham. The Barrie tornado was the fourth most damaging and had the
longest track (200 km) in Canadian history. In all, the family of tornadoes
killed 11 people, injured hundreds of others, and destroyed or damaged 1,000
buildings.
- Worst Air Crash in Canada - December 12, 1985. An Arrow Airlines DC-8,
after refueling in Gander en route to Kentucky, crashed seconds after take-off,
killing 248 members of the US 101st Airborne Division and 8 crew. Just before
the crash, freezing drizzle and snow grains were reported. The temperature was
-4.2oC and winds were light from the west.
- Black Friday Tornado - July 31, 1987. One of Canada's most intense
tornadoes ever struck Edmonton and killed 27 people -- the second worst killer
tornado in Canada. Winds reached 400 km/h, cutting a swath of death and
destruction 40 km long and as much as 1 km wide. In addition, hail as large as
softballs and 40 to 50 mm of flooding rain fell on the city.
- $4 Billion Drought - September 1987-August 1988. Across the southern
Prairies, the hottest summer on record, combined with half the normal growing
season rainfall and a virtually snow-free previous winter, produced a drought
that rivaled the 1930s in terms of intensity and duration of the dry spell.
About 10% of farmers and farm workers left agriculture in 1988. Effects of the
drought were felt across the country as lower agricultural yields led to higher
food and beverage prices for consumers.
- Warmest Winter Olympics - February 1988. The Winter Olympics in Calgary
experienced some of the warmest temperatures ever for late February. On February
26, Miami's high temperature of 19.4°C was only a shade warmer than
Calgary's maximum of 18.1°C.
- Record Wind Chill - January 28, 1989. It was bad enough when the
temperature dropped to -51°C in Pelly Bay, NWT but the wind made the air
feel even colder when the wind chill equivalent reached -91°C.
- Hailstorm Strikes Calgary - September 7, 1991. A supper-hour storm
lasting 30 minutes dropped 10-cm diameter hail in Calgary subdivisions,
splitting trees, breaking windows and siding, and crushing birds. Homeowners
filed a record 116,000 insurance claims, with property damage losses exceeding
$300 million -- the most destructive hailstorm ever and the second costliest
storm in Canada.
- Canada's Only World-Weather Record - September 11, 1995. The QE2
ocean liner was struck by a 30-metre wave during Hurricane Luis off the coast of
Newfoundland, marking the largest measured wave height in the world. The massive
storm covered almost the entire North Atlantic, almost 2,000 km across.
- Saguenay Flood - July 18-21, 1996. Canada's first billion dollar
disaster, this deluge triggered a surge of water, rocks, trees and mud that
killed 10 people and forced 12,000 residents to flee their homes. Many roads and
bridges in the region disappeared.
- Hailstorm Pounds Calgary and Winnipeg - July 24, 1996. Orange-sized
hailstones racked up close to $300 million in property losses. Hail clogged
storm sewers, causing extensive flooding in both cities and in Winnipeg, at
least a third of the cars damaged had to be written off.
- Red River Flood Levels Highest of Century - April-May, 1997. About 2,000
square km of valley lands were flooded as the Red River rose 12 m above winter
levels. Thousands of volunteers and soldiers fought rising waters for days.
Damage estimates reached a half a billion dollars.
- Okanagan's $100 million Hailstorm - July 21, 1997. A destructive
hail and wind storm ripped through the orchards of the Okanagan. It was the
worst storm in memory with nearly 40% of the crop deemed unsuitable for fresh
market. The rain and hail was accompanied by winds gusting to 100 km/h that
capsized boats in the interior lakes, and caused power outages and traffic
accidents.
- Ice Storm of the Century - January 4-9, 1998. One of the most destructive
and disruptive storms in Canadian history hit Eastern Canada causing hardship
for 4 million people and costing $3 billion. Losses included millions of trees,
130 transmission towers and 120,000 km of power and telephone lines. Power outages
lasted from several hours to four weeks.
- A Year-Long Heat Wave - 1998. Canada experienced its second warmest
winter and warmest spring, summer and fall on record. Temperatures in 1998 were
an average of 2.4 degrees warmer than normal and likely the warmest year this
century.
- Costliest Forest Fire Season on Record - 1998. Flames from forest fires
destroyed 4.6 million hectares of forests, about 50% more than the normal
amount. The 10,560 fires were the greatest number in 10 years.
- Toronto's Snowstorm of the Century - January 2-15, 1999. A series
of storms stalked the city, dumping nearly a year's amount of snow in less
than two weeks. In all, the city recorded the greatest January snowfall total
ever with 118.4 cm and the greatest snow on the ground at any one time with 65
cm. The storms cost the city nearly twice the annual budget in snow
removal.
- Greatest Single-Day Snowfall Record - February 11, 1999. Tahtsa Lake, BC,
received 145 cm of snow, a new Canadian single-day snowfall record, but well
below the world's record of 192 cm at Silver Lake, Colorado on April 15,
1921.
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