Top Ten Weather Stories

Canada's Top Ten Weather Stories For 2005

• Media Advisory
• Top Ten Weather Stories
• Runner-Up Weather Stories
• Significant Regional Weather Stories

Some people are saying that 2005 was the year Mother Nature was mad at the world. We started the new year in shock from the deadliest tsunami in modern history and ended it still cleaning up from Hurricane Katrina - the costliest storm ever. The year's relentless, unstoppable weather extremes wreaked havoc around the world, including: the driest year in decades across the Amazon rainforest; a record drought in southeastern Australia; weather striking Europe with a biblical vengeance, with eastern sections under water and searing heat and wildfires in the south; weeks of torrential rains and floods in south China, while droughts plagued the north; and in India and Pakistan, deadly heat followed by flooding monsoons. Globally, it was the second warmest year on record over the past 145 years, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). It was also one of the costliest, according to insurers, with record losses from weather-related disasters around the world totalling $200 billion. Ominously, we also saw a record shrinkage of ice cover on the Arctic sea with possible disappearance in sight.

Throughout the year, generous Canadians freely donated money and help to the victims of nature's misery around the world. At the same time, we were in awe of the power and force of nature and quietly thankful that we live in Canada - not immune to nature's wrath but seemingly out of its sight. Complaints about snow, frostbite, heat and humidity, potholes, slush and brownouts seemed to pale in comparison to the deadly weather outside our borders. But as we head into 2006, many shudder at the thought of what another year could bring. Scientists can't yet say that the increased weather severity can be directly linked to a warmer world, although it is certainly consistent with our expectations of climate change. But with or without global warming, weather extremes are becoming increasingly catastrophic for modern societies because our larger communities create more targets for Mother Nature's wrath. Our buildings are taller, more ground surface is paved over and we have more people living in close proximity. It's no wonder we are becoming more vulnerable to severe weather incidents.

Hopefully, 2005 was a blip - a year of unlucky extremes and disasters, and not the beginning of an irreversible global trend to weather weirdness and meteorological mayhem.

While Canadians were spared for the most part in 2005, we still had our share of weather extremes. It was another warm year in Canada and the wettest ever, with rain, rain and more rain dominating the weather news from coast to coast. Insured property losses and other costs also made it our most expensive summer ever. Thankfully, deadly tornadoes, devastating hurricanes, drought and plagues were a "no show" for this year and it is hoped that their absence will be repeated in 2006.

Dominating this year's top weather stories in Canada were floods in three different provinces. Once again, Alberta owned the year's number one weather story with record June rains and ensuing floods that became the province's costliest disaster ever. Those same summer storms rolled into Manitoba and triggered the worst summer flooding in that province's history. Both events led to enormous property losses over $750 million. In Ontario, a family of August afternoon storms generated a deluge in Canada's largest city that in less than two hours became the most expensive weather disaster from an insurance perspective in the province's history and the second largest insured loss event in Canadian history.

Other top weather stories for 2005 included: a record warm summer in Ontario and Quebec that was both the sweatiest and smoggiest ever; heavy May rainfalls in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick that led to extreme flooding; too much snow in one week in the Maritimes, but too little on the West Coast to suit winter sports fans; the arrival of a Tropical Punch on the Pacific Coast leading to landslides; and wild November gales around the Great Lakes that included a rare tornado. And though 2005 was all about major hurricanes in North America, Canada didn't see one.

The following Top Canadian Weather Stories for 2005 are rated from one to ten based on factors that include the degree to which Canada and Canadians were impacted, the extent of the area affected, economic effects and longevity as a top news story:

Top Ten Weather Stories for 2005

1. Alberta's Flood of Floods
2. Manitoba's Worst Widespread Flooding Ever
3. Ontario's Most Expensive Weather Disaster
4. From a Bummer to a Hummer of a Summer
5. Year of the Hurricane … But not in Canada
6. April Showers Bring May Floods to the Maritimes
7. Winter Snow Goes Missing in British Columbia
8. Atlantic Canada's Week of Snow
9. November's Nasty Weather Brew
10. BC's Tropical Punch

1. Alberta's Flood of Floods

Though spring was dry across southern Alberta - some 50% drier than normal - farmers and ranchers were not overly concerned. Fall and winter together had been wetter than normal, and June is often the wettest month of the year. For 2005 it couldn't have been more true! June was so wet that by the end, several communities had gone through their wettest month ever.

Three major storms about a week apart drenched the region, generating record high water levels. Rivaling historic floods, rain-swollen streams burst their banks, inundating southern Alberta towns and forcing thousands of residents to evacuate. At High River, rising waters forced residents out of their homes on at least two occasions, some being airlifted by helicopter. Floodwaters washed out roads and parks, destroyed sewers, bridges and other infrastructure, wrecked buildings and drowned livestock. In Calgary, one in ten dwellings reported damage. Insurance losses were staggering and, together with uninsured infrastructure, could easily top $400 million, including $275 million in insured losses -- making it one of the costliest natural disasters in Alberta's history.

About 40 municipalities identified infrastructure damage and fourteen declared official states of emergency. Four people lost their lives - two when they were swept away by turbulent waters and two others when vehicles plunged into swollen rivers.

While the moist weather systems were not unusual, they stalled and even tracked westward instead of following their usual west-to-east movement. What became a real blessing was the previous winter's lack of snowfall in the southwest foothills (the lowest in four decades), which left little melt water to add to the pouring rain. Still, many rivers such as the Bow, Oldman and Red Deer were engorged, flowing 10 to 30 times their usual volume. Hydrologists estimated the flooding as a 1-in-200-year occurrence. Fortunately, dams and other hydrologic structures helped to limit some of the damage. Without them, Drumheller would have looked like New Orleans after Katrina.

In Calgary, June was the wettest month ever recorded. Total rainfall was 247.6 mm compared to a normal of 79.8 mm. Outside the city, monthly rainfalls approached 400 mm. When the Glenmore Reservoir overflowed for the first time in memory, the normally placid Elbow River peaked about ten times its usual June flow, prompting unprecedented evacuation plans for numerous riverside communities. More than 2,000 Calgary residents, from millionaires to boarders, abandoned their residences. Floodwaters filled basements to the ceiling with foul-smelling, raw sewage. Concern was also raised over Calgary's supply of clean water. By the opening of the Calgary Stampede, Southern Albertans had seen enough rain to last a lifetime.

2. Manitoba's Worst Widespread Flooding Ever

Manitoba knows flooding. Almost every spring there is concern about the flood threat from winter's melting snowpack and heavy April showers. In 2005, the province experienced its most widespread flooding on record. But what was truly remarkable was a rare summer flood as a result of torrential rains that fell repeatedly through June and July. It was a matter of too much rain too fast and over too many days. Summer thunderstorms were widespread, intense and frequent, arriving in bands 20 minutes apart that often tracked across the same ground. Flooding extended from boundary to border as one downpour after another filled Manitoba's small and mighty rivers and lakes. Waterways recorded their highest summer flows on record. In the north, the huge Churchill River hit its all-time high river level. In the south, the Red River in downtown Winnipeg rose to 6.1 m on July 3 - the second highest river level recorded in the city since major flood control works began in 1969. Nearly 200 local authorities requested disaster assistance and 22 municipalities declared a state of emergency. Over 5,000 private flood damage claims were filed, not including agricultural losses, and totalled more than $50 million. The number of claims was the second highest on record, topped only by those from the flood of 1997.

Manitoba had never before seen so much accumulated rainwater. Standing water extended over the largest geographic area on record. Manitoba's version of the monsoon season came from a series of intense low-pressure systems often arriving from south of the border. The most severe storm came on June 1 when intense thunderstorms and accompanying tornadoes raked the western half of the province near Melita and Brandon and northeastward towards Riding Mountain National Park. Officially, between 90 and 130 mm of rain fell but there was also a report from an unofficial gauge of an unbelievable total of 230 mm over June 1-2. The rains did not let up and by July 15, several locations saw totals up to four times their usual fall over the first six weeks of summer.

While the deluge created headaches for city residents, it was more devastating for rural folk. Parts of paved highways were under water for days on end. There were more road closures at one time than the province had ever seen - even in winter! Pasture land resembled rice paddies and crop lands featured whitecaps. Some of the best farmland in Canada was too soggy to farm. Manitoba Agriculture estimated that one million square kilometres were lost to the waters - more than one quarter of the province's farmland. Old timers couldn't remember so many fields going unseeded. Even worse, 2005 was the fourth year of the last seven that Manitoba farmers have not been able to seed a full crop. Projected losses approached $350 million, with a further adverse rippling effect on the provincial economy of $1.8 billion.

3. Ontario's Most Expensive Weather Disaster

On the afternoon of August 19, a line of severe thunderstorms tracked eastward across southern Ontario from Kitchener to Oshawa, including the northern half of Toronto. In its wake, the storm left a trail of damage that, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada, represented the highest insured loss in the province's history, exceeding $500 million. That's more than two and a half times Ontario's losses during the infamous ice storm of 1998 and the second largest loss event in Canadian history.

Literally dozens of thunderstorms were popping up at any one time. At its worst, the system spawned two F2 tornadoes with gusts between 180 and 250 km/h. The first tornado tracked through Milverton to Conestogo Lake (west of Elmira). The second moved from Salem to Lake Bellwood (north of Guelph). The twisters uprooted hundreds of trees, chewed the limbs off of countless others, downed power lines, tossed cars and trucks aside, and ripped into several homes, cottages and barns. To illustrate the storm's incredible force, at one farm, the twisting winds drove a ballpoint pen seven centimetres deep into a tree, splitting the trunk.

Although a rare tornado warning was issued for Toronto, the storm packed a different wallop as it approached from the northwest. The storm featured torrential rains, quarter- to golf-ball size hail, strong straight-line winds and flash flooding. During the height of the tempest, wind gusts peaked at 72 km/h and there were 1,400 lightning strikes per minute. However, it was the flash flooding that caused the greatest destruction. The storm dumped 103 mm of rain in one hour across a swath of North York and surrounding area. That compares to 53 mm in one hour from Hurricane Hazel in 1954. At Environment Canada's Downsview offices, 130 mm of rain fell - 100 mm in less than an hour - an unprecedented amount for any storm in Toronto, and easily greater than the one in one hundred years storm. The deluge flooded two floors of the Downsview building, prompting employees to huddle in the basement and interior auditorium in order to ride out the storm. A block or two to the north in Thornhill, a weather watcher emptied her rain gauge at 175 mm. Around the city, torrential rains snarled traffic and stranded drivers. Fire services responded to more than 1,000 calls. In one dramatic scene, marine services personnel rescued four people who fell into the fast-moving currents of the Don River.

An early tally found that there were over 15,000 insurance claims submitted for sewer backups caused by torrential rains and for structural wind damage. Not included in the insured losses were enormous infrastructure damages across the city. For example, about 30 m of Finch Avenue West was washed out. Repairs had still not been completed by the end of the year.

4. From a Bummer to a Hummer of a Summer

At times during the summer, residents across Ontario and southern Quebec either enjoyed or endured bouts of torrid heat and insufferable humidity. Combined with a record number of smog days, it was easily one of the hottest, sweatiest and dirtiest summers ever. And what a contrast to 2004 when summer went missing - it was either too cool, too wet or too cloudy for the likes of most people. If 2004 was the year without summer, 2005 was the year summer wouldn't end.

The summer of summers began with the warmest June ever, and the record-breaking trend continued into July, August and beyond. For traditional hot spots such as Windsor and Toronto, June-to-August was the warmest on record. Of significance was the number of hot days (>30°C) in Toronto. Normally, the city gets approximately 14 hot days a year. In 2004 there were only 3 hot days, but in 2005 there were a whopping 41! Montreal was also well above its average of 8 hot days per year, logging in with 23 for 2005. In contrast, there were only 2 hot days in 2004. Back in Toronto, the city issued eight heat alerts and 18 extreme heat alerts for a total of 26 heat days. The previous record was 19 in 1991. If anything, the summer heat was uncommonly relentless with few breaks between each episode.

For many it was the oppressively high humidity that evoked most of the complaining and for good reason. At Toronto, the number of days with humidex values greater than an uncomfortable 35 reached 44, tying the record in 1955 and 2002. The summer also featured the longest-ever bout of jungle-like humidity lasting 13 consecutive days beginning on July 10. But while daytime sweats can be eased by swimming pools and workplace air conditioning, it was the high night-time minimum temperatures that often led to much tossing and turning. In Toronto, minimum temperatures were a sweltering four degrees warmer than normal. Further, there were 25 nights in which the minimum temperature did not drop below 20°C (i.e. tropical nights), breaking the previous record of 19 in 2002.

With excessive heat, loads of sunshine and sluggish air circulation, frequent smog days were inevitable. At times, the heavy air was almost unbreathable and the smog was so thick that the CN Tower was only partially visible from a distance. The Ontario Ministry of Environment issued a record-breaking number of smog advisories from May 1 to September 30, covering 42 days across the province. Advisories ranged from 38 in Toronto to 10 in Sault Ste. Marie. June had exceptionally bad air, with smog advisories covering 20 days (two-thirds of the month). One episode lasted an unprecedented eight days. In Quebec, there were five actual smog episodes (not advisories) from May to September, counting 13 days in total, ranging from 12 days in Montreal to 4 days in the Laurentides and Quebec-Beauce. The longest bad air episode lasted six days from June 8-13 across Montreal and in the region of Drummondville / Bois-Francs.

At least six deaths in Toronto were blamed on the relentlessly hot summer, and that's likely just a fraction of the real mortality rate due to heat and smog. It was no surprise that power consumption was at an all-time high. Ontario's electricity manager issued more than a dozen emergency appeals to reduce power consumption in order to avoid rotating blackouts. With megawatts of power flowing at record levels, the province had to dim voltage by 5%.

Yet, the majority of residents seemed ecstatic over a summer that just went on and on. By Labour Day, summer came in as the warmest on record. But it didn't stop. The 6-month period from June to November turned out to be the warmest on record across parts of Ontario and Quebec. All people were talking about was the long stretch of bonus warmth, especially in the fall. It was so pleasantly warm for so long that many residents either felt guilty or concerned that somehow they were soon going to pay for the excess of delightful weather.

5. Year of the Hurricane…But Not in Canada

Forecasters predicted another active Atlantic hurricane season, but hyperactive was more like it! The final tally was 26 tropical storms and 14 hurricanes - both new all-time records - with two years' worth of storms in one. The busy storm season reflected a continuation of above-normal activity that began in 1995. Since then, all but two Atlantic hurricane seasons (1997 and 2002) have been stormier than normal. In 2005, more than half the storms ventured into the western Caribbean or Gulf of Mexico where sea surface temperatures were at their second warmest since 1982 when satellites were first used to observe water temperatures.

Among the hurricane highlights in 2005:

• 26 tropical storms from Arlene to Wilma and from Alpha to Epsilon. The previous busiest storm season on record was in 1933 with 21 storms.
• 14 Atlantic hurricanes eclipsed the previous record of 12 in 1969.
• A record of three Category 5 hurricanes - Katrina, Rita and Wilma - with sustained wind speeds in excess of 250 km/h.
• Hurricane Wilma was the most intense hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean, with a central air pressure falling to 882 mb. Its $10 billion price tag made it the third costliest storm on record.
• Dennis, Katrina, Rita and Wilma claimed 1,500 lives between them, with Katrina being one of the deadliest in USA history.
• Costs from Katrina totalled $125 billion (CDN), of which $40 billion was insured, making it by far the costliest weather disaster in world history.

Among factors contributing to the active hurricane season were: a continuation of super-heated ocean waters across the tropical Atlantic; higher ocean heat content; favourable winds and an upper air circulation that encouraged easterly winds; stagnant atmospheric circulation favouring an earlier start; strong winds off North Africa pushing more storms across the Atlantic Ocean; and an absence of shearing trade winds that would rip apart developing storms.

Unlike 2004 - when the season began slowly, grew to record activity and died as quickly as it began - 2005 began quickly and stayed active right to the end and beyond. While a record number of tropical storms swirled their way through the North Atlantic, surprisingly, few of them headed northward into Canada and none had nearly the impact of those in the United States and the Caribbean.

At the end of August, the remnants of Katrina tracked parallel to the axis of the Lower Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River drenching a narrow swath of southern Ontario from Long Point to near Hamilton with 100 mm of rain. In Quebec, the remains of Katrina brought between 80 and 100 mm of rain to the Basse-Cote-Nord region. Flooding was reported from overflowing rivers and washed out culverts in Charlesbourg and Vanier. On August 31, several daily rainfall records were set, including 73.8 mm at Montreal's P.E. Trudeau Airport - its wettest single day in August - and 73.9 mm at Quebec City, which became its new record for the wettest August day.

On September 17, the remains of Tropical Storm Ophelia brought foul weather to parts of the Nova Scotian mainland, before racing to Newfoundland the next day. Winds gusted up to 96 km/h and rainfall amounts ranged between 70 and 100 mm in thunderstorms. Waves as high as 11 m were reported at a buoy off Nova Scotia. Later, on September 26, the remains of Hurricane Rita merged with a low pressure system that crossed Quebec. Record-breaking rainfalls fell north of Montreal and in Quebec City. The greatest one-day rainfall was at Deschambault with 124.4 mm. On October 26, Hurricane Wilma's remnant low passed south of Sable Island, Nova Scotia where it was absorbed by a massive system off the continent. The hybrid storm generated moderate rainfall amounts of 30 to 50 mm. Generally, the nastiest weather occurred out at sea (e.g. waves built to nine metres.) High winds gusted to 125 km/h in communities on Cape Breton Island and the storm caused flooding problems around Sydney. Rough seas occurred along the Atlantic coasts of Nova Scotia and into the Gulf of St. Lawrence but there was little coastal flooding. The storm moved too fast to build the seas over a long fetch.

6. April Showers Bring May Floods to the Maritimes

Several Nova Scotia communities experienced their driest summer on record in 2005. But before the dryness, they had to endure their wettest spring ever. At Halifax, spring rainfall from March to May inclusive totalled a record 589.4 mm - some 225 mm greater than normal. Of the total, more than half fell in May, drowning the previous record of 230.1 mm set in 1971. Other all-time May records this year included Cape Sable Island at 418.4 mm and Liverpool at 508.4 mm.

The mammoth rains came from a parade of storms moving up the East Coast and stalling over the Maritimes from a blocking ridge of high pressure over Labrador. The system that hung around from May 21 to 27 generated strong winds and most of the rain that led to major flooding across the Maritimes. The heavy rainfall on the long weekend in May caused many rivers and lakes along the south shore of Nova Scotia to flood, prompting officials in Lunenburg to declare a local state of emergency. Rising waters swamped homes, closed bridges and washed away several roads, leading to numerous evacuations. The wet May had an adverse effect on farming, delaying crop planting by two to three weeks. It is hard to imagine a more dreadful month of weather. Even when it wasn't raining, it was cold, grey, overcast and blustery. At Halifax, temperatures were 1.4°C cooler than normal, and only once in May did the day's high rise above 18°C. Total sunshine at Shearwater amounted to only 63% of normal for the month - some 70 hours short of normal. Even more revealing, over half the days had less than one hour of sunshine including nine days in a row.

Flooding was worse in the upper reaches of the St. John River in New Brunswick. The headwaters of the basin received heavy snowfall throughout the winter and record precipitation in March and April. Saint Leonard lost 151 cm of snow on the ground in five weeks. When the large accumulation of snow and ice started melting quickly, followed by heavy spring rains and some very warm temperatures the second week of May, the spring freshet came fast and was intense. Water filled the Saint John River to the brim. Then came the copious rains on the May long weekend with 80 mm at St. Leonard. Flooding forced more than 40 families from their homes and washed out major sections of New Brunswick's main highways and several city roads. At Fredericton, the river rose a metre above flood stage pushing water into streets and homes. While flooding was much higher than normal, it was still a half metre lower than the highest levels reached in 1973's one-in-200 year flood.

7. Winter Snow Goes Missing in British Columbia

The winter forecast for the West Coast was warmer and drier than normal. No one, however, foresaw the scanty snowfall and thin snowpack that accumulated over British Columbia's winter resorts. Never in recent years had snow conditions been so pathetic, leading to huge economic write-offs and major disappointment among snow enthusiasts. For such fans, worse weather could not have occurred: record January rainfall, record February sunshine and record warm March temperatures. And adding to the frustration, near-record snow fell in April just when most resorts had given up and closed for the season.

A strong and persistent ridge of high pressure over British Columbia effectively blocked winter storms from entering the southern two-thirds of the province. When moist air did roll in, it often occurred with bouts of warmth or torrential and unrelenting rains. Whistler-Blackcomb had its lowest snowfall accumulation since the resort opened in 1966, between a third and a half of its average seasonal accumulation. Worse, soaking rains, abundant sunshine and balmy temperatures eroded what snow did fall. At Mount Washington, on Vancouver Island, the mountain resort typically receives an annual average of 9 m of snow. This winter, the slopes were uncommonly grassy and bare. At the peak of the ski season, the snowpack measured a paltry 12% of normal. Ironically, in April, the resort received a whopping 360 cm of snow - the biggest April snow dump in 25 years, making for the best end-of-season skiing in memory. In the BC Interior, conditions were also snow poor. In February, Kelowna was drier than Los Angeles and warm too, with every day above freezing and no snow - weather conditions never seen before. In Kamloops, cross-country skiers said snow conditions were the worst in 44 years. The major resort corporation, Intrawest, said this snow season had the most challenging weather for skiing in 40 years. At its main property at Whistler, visits were off by 14%, costing the company millions in lost revenue. With more mud than powder, skiers and snowboarders abandoned BC slopes for the higher altitudes of Alberta.

Despite the absence of winter across British Columbia, conditions were ripe for avalanches. In late March, the BC Avalanche Centre warned backcountry skiers, snowboarders, snowshoers and snowmobiliers to use particular caution after a fresh dump of snow (40 cm) and mild spring temperatures. Further, several rapid freeze/thaw cycles and high winds combined to create an unstable snow pack. On average, 15 people die as a result of being caught in an avalanche every year in Canada. In 2004-5, there were six deaths.

8. Atlantic Canada's Week of Snow

By mid-January, Atlantic Canada was averaging one good dump of snow a month since November - enough to keep roads bare and residents fit. Then, on January 17, up to 40 cm of snow, accompanied by winds gusting to 90 km/h, raked the region. Drifting snow caused more problems than accumulation. Blowing snow and white-outs created some very treacherous driving and walking conditions.

Before residents could fully recover, Atlantic Canada braced for another winter blow three days later. Many felt relieved when they got roughly half the snow dumped from the earlier storm and less wind. But, the worse was yet to come! On January 23-24, a slow-moving storm had time to drop record amounts of snow across the Maritimes. Blizzard conditions occurred everywhere, with huge snowfalls and hurricane-force winds gusting to 130 km/h. Adding to the misery were very low temperatures, creating brutal wind chills of -35, unusually cold for the Maritimes. In many elevated places, snowfall totals exceeded 50 to 70 cm. Several weather stations broke their record for the snowiest January day. The mammoth storm buried Greenwood with 64 cm of new snow, nearly doubling its single-day January record of 35 cm set in 1962. Yarmouth's 59 cm was another single-day January record, tipping the previous high mark of 47 cm in 1943. You know it's a lot of snow when they close the ski hills. The storm also forced major highway closures, along with the airport and all schools, for at least two days. Churches cancelled services and stores closed after being opened for a couple of hours.

It was a dangerous storm for anyone being outdoors. The heaviest precipitation bands had snow rates of 7 to 9 cm per hour with total storm duration lasting between 24 and 30 hours. Significant drifting of 1 to 2 m occurred almost everywhere, particularly in the lee of buildings and downwind of open fields. In many cases, cars were mostly or completely buried. Several motorists had to be rescued after becoming stranded on the Trans-Canada Highway. Of surprise to Nova Scotia residents, the storm did not create any power interruptions.

The big talk was three major blizzards in one week. Weekly snowfall totals during the third week of January amounted to: 139 cm at Greenwood, 111 cm at Yarmouth, 93 cm at Sydney, 90 cm at Charlottetown and 76 cm at Moncton. The accumulated effect of the storms cost businesses millions of dollars. At one Halifax shopping centre, bad weather had closed the mall for an unprecedented three and a half days since December 27.

9. November's Nasty Weather Brew

November is one of the windiest months on the Great Lakes. Gales of November have accounted for nearly half of the ship wrecks in those waters. The location of the lakes in the interior of North America, between the source regions for contrasting arctic and tropical air masses, often brings the region rapidly changing and explosive weather systems. In November, along the overriding jet stream, developing cyclones track eastward into the Great Lakes where they often get an extra shot of energy from the relatively warm lake waters. Lows are often stronger than at other times of the year. These nasty storms are called "witches of November".

In the first week of November 2005, a vicious "witches" storm pummelled the lower Great Lakes region packing wind gusts of 90 km/h. South of the Great Lakes, the storm spawned a deadly tornado in Indiana that killed 22 people. In Ontario, damage was - for the most part - minor and localized. In Hamilton, the storm tore down trees, ripped hydro lines, blew around recycling boxes and debris, and downed traffic lights. Emergency crews were kept hopping as they responded to hundreds of calls. The strongest winds were generally reported over higher ground and in exposed areas to the lee of the Great Lakes. Hydro One reported up to 70,000 customers without power across the province.

On November 9, another line of storms moved through the province. The day proved to be one of the wackiest weather days ever in Ontario. Temperatures climbed to a balmy 20°C in Windsor, Ottawa experienced a bout of freezing rain, Barrie had snow and Hamilton saw a rare tornado. The Hamilton twister struck about 4 p.m. and lasted 10 minutes. As an F-1 category tornado, it packed winds up to 180 km/h, giving it the strength to pick up and toss around dumpsters, cause walls to buckle, roofs to peel back and cars to flip over. The tornado carved a narrow 7-km path through the city, causing extensive damage to some homes but sparing their next door neighbours. The twister damaged a school and lifted the gym's roof off its foundation. At least a dozen homes were so badly damaged that residents couldn't move back in. Miraculously, only two children suffered minor injuries. The twister was only the third to touch down in Canada later than November 9 since record-keeping began in the early 1900s. The other two Ontario tornadoes touched down in the southwestern communities of Leamington (November 29, 1919) and Exeter (December 12, 1946).

A third major "witches" brew struck southern and central Ontario on November 16 and 17. Wind gusts reached as high as 100 km/h. Hydro One reported that fierce winds knocked out power to more than 50,000 customers across the province. Power restoration was difficult because in some instances sustained winds felled power lines two or more times. Roads in Toronto were flooded and houses in one neighbourhood were evacuated when a retaining wall weakened. South of the Great Lakes in the United States, the weather again caused more serious damage, triggering 35 tornadoes. In Hamilton, the sound of the wind only reminded some residents of the tornado just a week before.

10. BC's Tropical Punch

In mid-January, following a two-week blast of wintry weather across BC's Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island, a persistent flow of record warm, moist air dubbed the "Tropical Punch" engulfed southwestern British Columbia. But more than the usual "Pineapple Express", this system originated south of Hawaii, drawing northward even wetter and warmer air from the subtropics. Temperatures soared to record levels. Abbotsford reached a balmy 18.1°C on the 19th, the highest January temperature recorded anywhere in the province since 1899. Victoria also shattered its warmest-ever January reading at 16.1°C. The system soaked the BC coast with record rain. At Tofino, on Vancouver Island, 96.8 mm of rain fell on January 17 and a phenomenal 197.2 mm the next day - both new daily records. Port Renfrew received a two-day total of 342 mm. Compounding the problem, the ground was still frozen and could not absorb the runoff as denuded slopes couldn't hold back the rushing waters.

Crews worked feverishly to free storm drains of debris and ice. Automobiles hydroplaned off streets and roads into flooded ditches; dykes ruptured; sump pumps broke down under heavy usage; and parking lots became mini-lakes. The week-long rains washed out bridges and highways and forced hundreds to flee mud-filled homes. Damages were in the tens of millions of dollars. In North Vancouver, a massive slide of mud, trees and rocks rushed down a 75-metre-high embankment, completely destroying one home and dam, killing a woman and forcing the evacuation of the neighbourhood.

Runner-up Weather Stories In 2005

1. Canada Getting Warmer and Wetter
2. Year-round Smog
3. Record Sea Ice Reductions
4. On the Farm…and in the Woods
5. Air France Accident at Pearson
6. West Nile Virus
7. Queen's Visit to Canada
8. Warm Fall from Coast to Coast to Coast
9. Record Snow Dump in Montreal

Canada Getting Warmer and Wetter

In 2005, based on preliminary estimates, Canada had the sixth warmest year in almost 60 years, about 1.3°C warmer than average. It was also the ninth consecutive year with above-normal temperatures. Six of the warmest nine years have occurred since 1998. Every Canadian region experienced temperatures warmer than normal in 2005. It was unusually warm in northern British Columbia, the Yukon and in the far North. Nationally, all seasons were warmer than normal, with the transition seasons of spring and fall showing the greatest positive temperature departures. Across Canada, spring was the third warmest (+2.1°C) and fifth wettest (+12%) since records began in 1948. Fall was delightful all across the country. Nationally, and in Ontario and Quebec, it was the second warmest fall on record.

A warmer Canada is in step with the rest of the world. Globally, 2005 was the twenty-seventh consecutive year with above-normal temperatures and within a fraction of the record temperature established in 1998.

Temperatures have been rising over the past 100 years, but this slow warming has increased markedly over the past quarter century. The ten warmest years globally have all occurred since 1990, the top three since 1998. According to the World Meteorological Organization in Geneva, the global average temperature has risen about three times faster since 1976, compared to that for the past 100 years. Now into the 21st century, global temperatures are more than 0.6°C above those at the beginning of the 20th century. Although yet another warm year is not itself evidence of enhanced climate change, the unprecedented increase in global temperatures in the past quarter century has added to the strong and compelling evidence of humankind's contribution to our changing climate.

Across Canada, 2005 was the wettest year on record, some 14% wetter than normal. Every season was wet, especially summer - its wettest ever at 21% above normal. Some areas in the west and north were 40% wetter than normal in summer, with some parts of southern Alberta and Manitoba double that.

Year-round Smog

Across Eastern Canada summer featured frequent hot and rain-free days, loads of sunshine, light winds and sluggish air currents. Not surprisingly, it also experienced a record number of smog advisory days in 2005: 53 in Ontario, 25 in Quebec and 3 in Atlantic Canada. Gritty brown air capped cities and towns from Windsor to North Bay and east to Quebec City, including rural areas and cottage country.

Smog advisories in Ontario were issued more often in 2005, covered more days and were generally more widespread than ever before. The Ontario Ministry of the Environment reported a record-breaking total of 15 smog advisories covering 53 days as a whole, compared to 8 advisories for 20 days last year. Two more firsts for Ontario were a widespread smog episode in October which lasted four days and the earliest warm season smog advisory on April 19 and 20. Traditionally, the smog season covers May to September.

In Southern Quebec, authorities observed 13 smog days in total (not advisories) during the warm season from mid-April to the end of September. Montreal experienced the most bad air days at 12 and Gatineau was next with 10. Of significance, Montreal observed more bad air days during the cold season than the warm season, recording 15 smog days between January 1 and April 15, and 12 during the rest of the year. Of significance, southern parts of Ontario and Quebec reported a substantial winter smog episode for the first time ever. From January 31 to February 8, a stagnant air mass, rare for this time of year, prevailed across Ontario and Quebec. An "inversion layer"-- in which warm air a couple thousand metres up presses down on colder air at ground level-- kept pollutants trapped down at breathing level. The nine-day event was the longest continuous bout of smog in the history of the air observing program in Quebec. The episode prompted the Quebec government to ask residents to refrain from burning wood unless absolutely necessary until after the weather changed. (About one half of the pollutants in Montreal in the colder months come from wood stoves.) Combined with 2005's April to October smog season, many were left wondering if smog has now become a year-round concern.

Record Sea-Ice Reduction in Arctic Ocean

Arctic sea ice melts back each summer, and reaches its smallest extent in September. After most summers, the ice cover rebounds to much higher values the following years. Since the 1970s, the geographical extent of the Arctic sea ice has been decreasing by about 7% per decade. What is of major concern is that the ice cover has yet to bounce back from its record low in 2002. In each of the last four years, the ice cover has dipped to the smallest area dimension since it was first measured by satellites in 1978. In 2005, the ice extent reached its lowest ever in a quarter century at about 5.3 million square km, down from 7.0 million square km in 1978-- or 20% less extent than it was nearly 30 years ago. This year's record surpasses the previous record minimum of slightly less than 6 million square km in 2002. Climate scientists suggest that the summer ice cover has reached a "tipping point" beyond which there is no return and it likely will continue to decrease until there is an ice-free Arctic Ocean sometime later this century.

On the Farm…

In late July, lush grain fields raised high hopes for growers across Alberta and Saskatchewan that the 2005 harvest would be the biggest ever. But when the harvest came, so did the rains and cold, ruining any chance of a banner year. In hard-hit Manitoba, summer rains flooded out much of the land before growers could even start to seed.

Many farmers had to scramble to get the harvest completed. Fortunately, November was warmer than normal providing growers with some extra time to get the crop into storage. But, for so many weeks in late summer and the fall, the harvest was at a standstill, two to three weeks behind schedule. While the quantity of the crop was never in question, with spring wheat production well above the five-year average in Saskatchewan, the excessive moisture and abundant cloud diminished the quality of the crop to "feed-grade" in some cases due to bleaching, mildew and sprouting. On the Prairies, only 43% of the wheat ranked grade No. 1 compared to 70% in average years. And with excess moisture came the added cost of drying the grain.

The early summer dryness across Ontario turned out to be devastating for hay and corn farmers. At least five locations in Ontario experienced their driest May on record. For example, from May 1 to July 31 at Toronto, there was only 66.6 mm of rain - about a quarter of the normal accumulation of 171 mm. The scant rain that fell over 41 days from June 15 to July 25 inclusive had serious repercussions for farmers. With corn and soybeans reaching maturity, and with relentless heat, growers needed even more rain than normal. They became desperate for a long, steady rain to soak deeply into the ground. By the middle of July, not only had parts of southern Ontario experienced their driest 10 weeks on record, those same areas had 24 days with temperatures above 30°C and their warmest beginning to summer on record.

…and in the Woods

The Canadian International Forest Fire Centre reported an average fire year in Canada in terms of the number of fires (7,292 compared to a recent ten-year average of 7,536), but with significantly fewer hectares of forest land consumed - 1.7 million hectares or 68% of the average. The number of fires was down in most provinces with the exception of Ontario and Quebec.

Summer in the northeastern boreal forest zone was the second warmest in nearly 60 years (+1.6°C) and precipitation was down. But across the west, where the fire season was quiet, it was slightly cooler than normal. Significantly, it was the second wettest summer in over half a century. The result was that British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba had their fewest number of wildfires in the past 10 years.

It was a slow start to the fire season across most Canada. However, in northeastern Ontario and in Quebec the fire hazard built through June and into July. The continuing dry weather, high temperatures and the addition of lightning grew the fire activity. By mid-July, the situation was extreme across Quebec in the midst of some of the driest and warmest conditions on record. The province experienced its greatest number of fires in the past decade and some 2.4 times the average area burned over the past 10 years. Less area burned than in 2002, but the fires in 2005 were much more widespread. In fact, some officials felt Quebec hasn't seen fires this widespread since the 1930s. In contrast, 2004 was the slowest for forest fire activity since 1928. Most of the fires were started by lightning and fuelled by the hot, dry conditions. The worst fires occurred between Matagami and Chibougamau in northern Quebec. In early June, wildfires caused 1,800 construction workers to leave the James Bay Eastmain hydro-electric development project.

Air France Accident at Toronto Pearson

On August 2, Air France flight 358 from Paris landed in a driving rain storm at Toronto Lester Pearson International Airport. The jet overran the runway, slammed into a ditch, and burst into flames as more than 300 people aboard scrambled to safety. While the accident is still under investigation by the Canadian Transportation Safety Board, weather is being considered as one of several contributing factors in the accident. In the last few minutes before the landing, a principal expert investigating the crash has noted that the weather conditions were very poor. Just prior to and at touchdown, winds were shifting and shearing with strong gusts, the runway was rain-slicked, a blinding downpour reduced visibility, and there were thunderstorms with frequent lightning in the vicinity of the Airport. That no one was killed remains a major miracle.

West Nile Virus

Mosquitoes had to love this year's warm summer in the East. With such warmth, they became more active and bred more often. Further, with the record warm temperatures, humans presented easier targets for the blood-thirsty pests. More people spent time outdoors wearing shorts and short sleeves. Overall, the best weather for the favoured mosquito carrying the West Nile virus was in Ontario and Quebec. Prolonged warmth and long dry spells interrupted with heavy doses of rain (when it did rain) were ideal for the disease-carrying mosquitoes.

Given the favourable weather, it was not a surprise that counts of West Nile virus were much higher in 2005 than the year before. Of the total of 3,988 dead birds tested for West Nile virus, 447 (11%) were positive. In addition, 21 horses tested positive for the disease. Most people bitten by an infected mosquito don't get sick at all and less than 12% become seriously ill. In testing of human beings, results showed that 225 clinical cases of West Nile virus occurred, including 12 deaths: Saskatchewan (2), Manitoba (1), Ontario (8, with half the deaths in the Toronto area) and Quebec (1). Last year, a mere 29 clinical cases of West Nile virus and no deaths were reported in Canada, down from the record year in 2002 of 1388 cases and 14 deaths.

Queen's Visit to Canada

On May 17, stiff winds, grey skies and a drizzle greeted the Queen and Prince Philip when their plane touched down for the launch of centennial celebrations in Saskatchewan and Alberta. If anything, the "English" weather made the royal couple feel at home. Unfortunately, weather plagued the Queen's visit for most of the nine-day tour - raining on all but two of the days with public events. As it happened, the weather was near perfect on the weekend the couple vacationed in Jasper. For official functions, the weather could not have been much worse. To their credit, the Royals never showed any weather weariness and were in good spirits throughout the visit. They refused to take cover, never hurried and the Queen chose to ride in an open-air carriage when a closed vehicle was offered. At the Saskatchewan Legislature Building in Regina, the Queen and Prince Philip arrived in an open, horse-drawn carriage during a downpour that lasted most of the day. Soaked and shivering spectators huddled under coats, tarps, and umbrellas. On May 23, at Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium, a chilly rain and gusty winds forced organizers to cut short a centennial performance despite a crowd of more than 15,000 hardy souls who were mostly huddled under umbrellas and garbage bags in order to catch a glimpse of the Queen and Philip. The miserable weather greatly disappointed thousands of their sodden admirers but the royal stiff upper lip won over the crowd everywhere the couple went.

Warm Fall from Coast to Coast to Coast

Fall is often the shortest season of the year in Canada as the time between the first frost and first snow can be days long, if not hours. Nationally, fall 2005 was the second warmest on record. Only in 1998, was the period between September and November warmer at +2.3°C.. Every region in Canada experienced unseasonably warm conditions, especially in Eastern Canada where temperatures averaged 1.7°C warmer than normal. At individual places, such as London and Toronto, it was the warmest fall on record and, remarkably, followed on the heels of the warmest summer on record. Even in the Arctic, fall temperature anomalies were in the top ten of the warmest fall ever. On the Prairies, following winter's frigid first blast around the middle of November, record warm temperatures returned to the West. On November 22nd, Calgary and Saskatoon recorded daily highs of 20.0°C and 11.4°C respectively. In the late fall, record warm spells usually run a day or two, but the warm spell on the Prairies endured for nine days or more. On the downside, the unseasonably warm fall weather affected retail sales of winter clothes and equipment.

Record Snow Dump in Montreal

On December 14-15, a major weather system moved up the American east coast pushing significant snow into southwestern Ontario before lashing eastern Ontario and southern Quebec with a huge dump of snow. Communities around Toronto and to the west received between 10 and 15 cm of snow, creating hundreds of single-vehicle crashes. Eastern Ontario took the brunt of the storm. From Trenton to Cornwall, snowfall totals exceeded 23 cm and included some ice pellets. Ottawa's morning rush hour was chaotic when 54 transit buses broke down or were in accidents. However, the storm left its biggest punch for Montreal. The city was socked with a record-breaking 41 cm in a mere 11 hours. During morning rush hour, snow fell at a phenomenal rate of 8 cm an hour. Blowing snow and high winds generated blizzard conditions and created monstrous drifts as tall as a metre or more. The 40+ snowfall at Dorval was the city's largest single-day December snowfall in its weather history and second to the snowiest day ever -- March 4, 1971-- when Montreal was buried in 43.2 cm of snow. The expected disruption occurred to air and transit travel. More than 200 flights in and out of the Trudeau International Airport were impacted and, by early afternoon, highways became parking lots as more than 400 vehicles -- in fender-benders or skids or just stalled -- waited for a tow. Instead of calling for the army, Montrealers tackled the storm's entrails, confident their reputation as the world city that ploughs and shovels more snow than any other was firmly in tact and that this was merely a first good test for the winter that was still five days away from starting.

Significant Regional Weather Stories

Atlantic Canada

Another January Blizzard in Newfoundland

On January 17, people in western Newfoundland dug themselves out from another huge dump of snow. Strong easterlies gusting to 100 km/h led to frequent whiteouts. Following the storm, the weather turned cold with extreme wind chills. The blizzard saw schools and businesses close and travel disrupted. Plows were taken off side roads.

Missing the Snow in PEI

Charlottetown had only 12.2 cm of snow in February - close to its all-time low record total of 11.2 cm in February 1998. What was eclipsed was a record low for total precipitation; 22.9 mm compared to the previous record of 26.2 mm in 1981. Overall, it was a mild and quiet month because of storm inactivity. But the lack of snowfall had people talking. With snowfall totals 100 cm less than in February 2004 and only six days in the month with a measurable amount of snow, the people of Charlottetown were surprised at the snow "no show" in what is usually one of Canada's snowiest cities.

Winter Not Over Yet

On March 9, New Brunswickers awoke to a battering of rain, wind and snow - a harsh reminder that there was still more winter to come. Weather ran the gamut from 50 cm of snow in St. Leonard to 28 mm of rain in Saint John, with powerful wind gusts up to 111 km/h in Moncton. Nearly 25,000 hydro customers across the province lost power during the storm. A week later, city crews in northwestern New Brunswick were still working around the clock to clear streets and deal with snow dumps exceeding 15 m high. For some with short weather memories, it was said to be the worst late-winter storm ever.

In Nova Scotia, the problem was flooding and strong winds. Rising water and ice trapped people and forced the closure of several bridges. The highest wind recorded was 140 km/h at McNabs Island in Halifax Harbour. One resident from Whitney Pier noticed his barn was missing; the next day it was found several metres down the street. Environment Canada's Atlantic Storm Prediction Centre in Dartmouth had to evacuate their offices when the building began swaying. Forecasters were actually getting nauseous.

Ice-Crashing Storm Surge

On March 16, a storm surge sent 10-m waves, rocks and tonnes of ice crashing along Newfoundland's east coast on the Avalon and Baie Verte peninsulas, causing millions of dollars in damage. At Flatrock, strong winds felled 12-m cranes used for lifting crab out of boats. Thin ice was driven ashore with a tremendous force, ripping apart sheds, breakwaters and boats and wrecking fishing gear. Some tossed boulders were the size of a small car and were moved more than 10 m inland.

A Sheila's Brush Storm

A huge nor'easter struck the southern half of Newfoundland after St. Patrick's Day at the end of March. Heavy rain on the Burin Peninsula caused road washouts and flooded basements. St. Lawrence received a huge amount of rain - 100 to 150 mm in a 36-hour period. Its mayor called it the worst storm in a decade. Many residential units had their basements flooded and a lot of road shoulders were washed away. One unofficial report cited 234 mm of rain over one and a half days. In the north, around St. Anthony, blowing and drifting snow reduced visibility to zero at times.

Stormy Beginning to the Atlantic Seal Hunt

On March 29, the annual seal hunt in the Gulf of St. Lawrence opened in treacherous weather, turbulent seas and renewed tensions between sealers and international protesters. The foul weather sent one 18-metre fishing boat from Newfoundland to the bottom. It also kept observers grounded in Charlottetown. The second day brought gale-force winds of 90 km/h, freezing rain and fog. Thick fog forced down four helicopters in a field near Grand Tracadie. In another incident, five sealers had to jump into waters with 5-m high waves and ice floes initiating a dramatic rescue off the coast of PEI.

The Newfoundland portion of the seal hunt was to begin on April 12, but it was twice delayed by bad weather, rough seas and shifting ice floes. The hunt eventually got underway and ended by April 20. The harvest quota of 320,000 seals was reached despite horrible weather.

Runway Reconstruction and Fog at Halifax Airport

Reports of heavy fog and airport runway upgrades at Halifax International Airport forced the cancellation of dozens of flights on the Canada Day weekend. The situation was repeated a week later, making two weekends when hundreds of travelers were left stranded at the airport or forced to find alternative lodgings.

September Flooding in Stephenville

Hundreds of people in western Newfoundland fled their homes when rain-filled rivers flooded downtown Stephenville on September 27. Over 150 mm of rain, mostly from the remains of Hurricane Rita, fell on the region forcing the breaching of two town rivers. The Mayor declared a state of emergency when water washed out roads and swamped several bridges. Emergency measures officials conducted a door-to-door evacuation. Some people had to be rescued by a front-end loader and a zodiac. About 80 homes flooded when water rose up to first floor windows. It was several weeks before some residents could return home.

Moncton's May and October Monsoons

This year was the rainiest October ever seen in Moncton. In fact, it was the rainiest month ever with 277.8 mm falling on the city. On October 8, Moncton had its rainiest October day on record after receiving 120.6 mm of rain. The previous mark of 103.1 mm was set on October 21, 1968. Along with eclipsing October rainfall record, Moncton also broke its all-time rainfall mark for May with 232.3 mm, surpassing the old record set in May 1990. It marks the first time that two new monthly rainfall marks were set in the same year.

Quebec

Sunny March in Montreal

Montreal P. E. Trudeau International Airport set a new record for sunshine totals with 211.2 hours while the normal is 158.9 hours. The old record was 205.4 hours set in 1988.

Spring Flooding and Evacuations

On April 28, as much as 100 mm of rain fell across Quebec and New Brunswick at a time when snow was melting feverishly thus creating prime flood conditions. Rivers across Quebec overflowed causing landslides and washed-out roads. In the village of Petite-Rivière-St-François, north of Quebec City, rising waters forced more than two dozen families out of their homes - some for more than a week. Damages were so extensive to 30 homes, that officials condemned them.

Summer Deluges in Montreal

Montreal had both a sunny and wet summer. Sunshine totals exceeded 850 hours during June, July and August inclusive - some 12% more than normal. Total rainfall, however, was close to 390 mm or 145% of normal. And when it rained, it poured! On June 14, a downpour from the remains of tropical depression Arlene dropped a rainfall total of 40 mm - 30 mm of it in one hour. The sudden thunderstorm at morning rush hour flooded parts of Highway 40's interchanges leaving some motorists stranded for more than an hour. Cars rapidly filled with raw sewage. The rains also triggered several landslides.

Over the next three days more than 88 mm of rain fell in Montreal, adding to more water problems for motorists and residents. Three weeks later, on July 5, another brief but soaking storm inundated Montreal with 64 mm of rain, wreaking havoc on sections of the city's road network for the third time in less than a month. This time the storm disrupted afternoon rush-hour traffic, leaving some cars wading in water up to their roof lines. The Decarie Expressway was closed in both directions.

Vicious Autumn Winds

On September 29, almost a quarter of a million Quebecers in the southern and eastern parts of the province were left without power after 90 km/h winds and heavy rain struck. The hardest hit region was the Richelieu Valley, south of Montreal. Strong winds also caused blackouts in the Laurentians north of Montreal, and in Quebec's Eastern Townships. New maximum hourly winds speed records were set for both Dorval and Gaspe.

Ontario

That Was Some January Thaw!

Across southern and eastern Ontario, January 17 felt more like April or May when temperatures rose briefly to an incredible 18°C. In Toronto and Niagara the temperatures shattered previous high temperature records for January. In fact, at Toronto - in the midst of the usual dead of winter - the city experienced its warmest day ever in any January or February, with records dating back to 1840. The last time the city came close was 16.7°C on January 25, 1950. People savoured the moment, unzipped their coats, and left hats and mitts at home. The crazy temperatures were enough to close some Ottawa area ski resorts and further damage snowmobile trails.

Winter's Worst Days

A vigorous Alberta clipper which swept through southern Ontario on January 22 brought treacherous blizzards, blinding whiteouts and dangerously low wind chills. The highest snowfall totals were recorded near the west end of Lake Ontario where easterly winds blew embedded lake-effect squalls inland. Blowing snow created large drifts and reduced visibility to near zero. The OPP reported more than 800 accidents, mostly in the Toronto and Niagara region, and stretches of Highway 401 were closed with whiteouts and black ice.

A couple of days later, cold arctic air engulfed Ontario with temperatures dipping to below -25°C in the southern reaches of the province. It was the beginning of the coldest time of the winter. In Kitchener-Waterloo temperatures dipped to -31.1°C, one of the coldest days in its history. In Chatham, a homeless man became hypothermic after he was trapped in a clothing donation box that he had climbed into for warmth. It fell over, trapping him inside. The next morning someone heard his cry for help. In another incident, a woman died from hypothermia in a creek in Tilbury. In Ottawa, the bitter cold wreaked havoc on water pipes and roadways. The -40 wind chill also crowded the homeless into shelters in the major cities.

April Snowstorms Make For One Long Winter

A belated April Fool's Day storm lashed southern Ontario with upwards of 35 cm of heavy wet snow and 50 mm of rain, along with winds from the northeast gusting between 50 and 80 km/h. The blast of winter-like weather threw southern Ontario into traffic chaos. The mixed precipitation event led to 500 accidents. Further, the storm knocked down power lines in several areas of southern Ontario, leaving thousands of people in the dark. The highest amounts of precipitation occurred over the Niagara Peninsula. In Kingston and Ottawa, many residents had to deal with waterlogged basements following record rains and a generous snow melt.

On April 23-24, spring weather came to a brutish halt as wet snow and high winds pummelled southwestern Ontario. Residents in London, Windsor, Wiarton and other locations in western Ontario got a real white wake-up call, reminding them that despite spring being a month old, winter weather was still around. The freakish weekend snow storm in the London region knocked out power and caused havoc on the roads. Heavy snow weighed down tree limbs and cut off electricity to 19,000 homes, many from northwest of London to Grand Bend.

Windsor - Ontario's New Snowbelt

Windsor is often referred to as "Canada's banana belt" and one of the least snowy cities in Eastern Canada. Not this year! From November 2004 through April 2005, Windsor got an incredible 225.5 cm of record-breaking snow - about 100 cm more than a normal winter's accumulation. The previous record was 199.6 cm in 1969-70. By the middle of winter, Windsor and its residents already knew they were into something exceptional. Hardware stores had sold twice as much ice salt and shovels as normal. By the end of March, the city had inched closer to its all-time winter snow record but with the season all but over, the record most citizens were now cheering for seemed out of reach. However, winter refused to die. A freak spring snowstorm lashed Windsor on April 23-24, awarding the city its snowiest winter on record. As a bonus, it could now boast the snowiest April ever with a total of 31. 6 cm.

Barrie Deluge

On June 9, a major thunderstorm followed by a series of smaller systems dumped between 100 and 125 mm of rain on Barrie, bringing waist-deep flash flooding. Hail the size of pennies rained down on the city centre. The deluge came just days after Barrie marked the 20th anniversary of a devastating tornado that killed eight people in the city in 1985. In the latest storm, rising water submerged cars up to their windows and felled trees by the dozens. Pedestrians ran wildly for shelter, fighting against the wind just to stay upright. Police closed roads because of the flooding and some country roads were washed out.

UV Index Levels in Toronto Reach Extreme Category

On June 1, the UV (ultraviolet) Index in Toronto was observed at 10.56, rounded to 11, and listed as "extreme" by the 5-category UV scale. This was the first time the new extreme category had ever been attained in Canada. The high values were due in part to the very low stratospheric ozone levels over Ontario depleted by about 4% below pre-1980 values as a result of the emission of ozone-depleting substances into the atmosphere.

Rains from Dennis the Menace

On July 16, heavy rains sparked by the remnants of Hurricane Dennis caused local flooding in the Kitchener area, when 112.5 mm of rain fell during the day.

Prairie Provinces

Rough Start to 2005 in Manitoba

A massive blizzard that struck southern Manitoba on the last days of 2004 continued to rage into the beginning of 2005. The storm dropped 45 cm of snow in some areas raising concern over the potential for spring flooding. Highways between Portage la Prairie and the Saskatchewan border were closed due to poor driving conditions. The heavy snowfall stranded cars, frustrated bus riders and forced hundreds of Manitoba hockey fans attending the World Junior Hockey finals in Grand Forks, North Dakota to bed down in a football stadium. Sections of at least 10 highways in the province were closed. And as the snowfall diminished, 65 km/h winds whipped up the white stuff, reducing visibility in the outlying areas. Cleaning up the massive snowfall took nearly a week and two lives were lost due to the storm.

The Big Deep Freeze

During the first week of January, a frigid blast of Arctic air rolled across Western Canada. The deep freeze engulfed the West for several days, creating traffic delays and dangerous work conditions outdoors. Several flights were delayed when extra time was needed to warm up the aircraft. Both SaskEnergy and SaskPower set consumption records. Manitoba Hydro also reached a record peak demand for electricity when the meter hit 4,261 megawatts. And the night of January 16-17 was the coldest time of the winter when the temperature dipped to -40°C and below. The wind chill made it feel 10 degrees colder. Hundreds of Winnipeggers had to deal with frozen water pipes, broken sprinkler pipes and blocked chimneys, and hospital staff reported a higher-than-usual number of frostbite cases over the course of the week.

Ice Hockey Record

On February 19, about 40 bone-weary men in Edmonton reached their goal of playing the longest ice hockey game ever - more than 10 days - skating two days beyond the record held by residents of Moosomin, Saskatchewan, and qualifying them for an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records. Temperatures during the game ranged from 12°C to -15°C. The game was played on a homemade outdoor rink. The score was about 1,700 to 1,600.

A Blowdown Wind in Manitoba

Storm clouds filled the skies over Manitoba late on July 30. Heralded by considerable lightning, a thunderstorm dumped up to 60 mm of rain in two hours on Winnipeg's south side. Golf-ball size hail littered the ground in Selkirk. In the Otterburne area, the storm packed strong winds of about 150 km/h felling hundreds of trees. On one farm, ten of the biggest elm trees on the property snapped and fell on top of greenhouses. Further, straight-line winds picked up huge irrigation wheels each weighing 15 tonnes and threw them across the field. In Sandilands, the storm ripped out as many as 800 pine trees in town. The ground looked like a war zone. Motorists had to drive down the ditch to avoid the trees and branches lying on the road.

Maidstone's Deluge

On August 23, more than 120 mm of rain fell in Maidstone, Saskatchewan. The town's Mayor declared a state of emergency when the sewage station began to backup. The flash downpour flooded scores of basements, swamped cropland and forced Maidstone's 1,200 residents to cope without water services for more than 24 hours. Fields became saturated and crops were knocked over in water and mud, dashing hopes of a bumper harvest. To the north, heavy rains swelled lakes and river basins. The flow of the Churchill River was the highest ever seen since records were first collected in late 1920s.

Winter's First Blast

On the weekend following Labour Day, heavy rains and snows (45 cm) lashed southern Alberta, knocking out power and snapping off trees in the Crowsnest Pass. The power authority said the storm's heavy wet snow felled at least 50 utility poles. The inclement weather also wreaked havoc on the roads and fuelled fears of a repeat of June's devastating floods. Alberta Environment issued high stream flow advisories for more than 20 waterways across the region. In Calgary, high waters flooded basements and stalled traffic. Farmers winced at the thought of postponing a promising harvest. Among the most affected communities were Cardston, Raymond and Pincher Creek in southern Alberta, and Fernie and Sparwood in southeastern British Columbia.

On September 10, the storm moved into Saskatchewan leaving a trail of broken branches, toppled telephone poles and sodden fields. In Saskatoon, over 50 mm of rain fell in 24 hours. In LeRoy, about 120 km east of Saskatoon, more than 175 mm of rain transformed the normally placid creek into a wide river that washed out footbridges on a golf course and swept away crops that were swathed but not yet picked up.

British Columbia

Winter Was One Week Long in Victoria and Vancouver

The first week of January brought the only winter weather of the season to the south coast of British Columbia. Victoria got more than 46 cm of snow -- about a year's worth (48 cm) --including 23.4 cm on January 7. At times, motorists crept along slippery roads at half-speed. Many residents stayed home. Salt, sand and sleds flew off the shelves, and video stores were emptied. The provincial insurance corporation reported a 30% increase in the accident rate. On the mainland, police were busy with ditched vehicles, fender-benders and car thefts. For local taxis and tow trucking firms, it was a windfall, doubling their weekly business. By late January 7, Vancouver had recorded 12.2 cm of snow over a two-day period.

Sunniest February on Record in Vancouver! Or Was It?

Victoria had their sunniest February on record in 2005 (193.6 hours), breaking the previous record of 151.5 hours set in 1996. The normal sunshine total is 88.9 hours. While less cloud means cooler nights, days were near perfect for tennis, golfers and hikers in the city. Tourism Victoria's annual flower count was underway much to the annoyance of the rest of Canada. For those who care, final counts were more than 3.7 billion blooms, well over the 1.8 billion tallied up in 2004.

Vancouver boasted a record high bright sunshine total for February - more than 151 hours - but the exact figure will never be known because someone made off with Environment Canada's sunshine recorder. The 12-cm-diameter glass globe is valued at more than $2,000 and resembles a crystal ball. Psychics and fortune tellers are among the prime suspects!

Sea-To-Sky Mudslide

On March 20, a mudslide tore up sections of the Sea-to-Sky Highway north from Vancouver to Whistler, forcing resort-bound, springbreak travellers to turn around. Many of the stalled and now frustrated travellers were bound for the Whistler ski resort to take advantage of a fresh dump of snow (55 cm) on the first weekend of the spring break. Equipment used in the highway's $600-million upgrade project for the 2010 Olympics was used to help clear mud and debris almost a metre deep from the road. The south coast was also hit by high winds, causing blackouts in some Vancouver neighbourhoods.

A Gloomy June

Sun-loving Vancouver just moped through one of the gloomiest Junes in the record books - a meagre 148.5 hours shone on the city compared to the normal of 229 hours. The lingering cloud cover was the result of a persistent low-pressure system over the Queen Charlotte Islands. With temperatures peaking around 20°C on most days, crowds on the beaches were sparse. As a consequence of the dearth of sunny days, some sun-tanning salons reported a brisk business and the production of honey dropped to record low amounts. Inland, June was one of the wettest Junes in history in the Okanagan. In Kamloops, 86.2 mm of rain fell compared to a normal of 35.2 mm. One storm after another kept sunshine down but also kept forest fires in check.

North

Storm-Stayed in Tuk!

During the second week of January, the weather turned ugly at Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories, a hamlet of about 1,000 people. During the storm, temperatures dipped below -30°C and winds topped 117 km/h. Some homes lost power for 5 days, and water and sewage services were unavailable. Five houses froze solid, likely with burst pipes and ruined pumps. One family without power was forced to use a camp stove in order to melt snow into water for flushing toilets.

Thinning Ozone Holes

Frigid January temperatures high in the atmosphere above the Arctic started to thin the protective ozone layer even more, raising alarm about increased harmful UV rays and the adverse impact on human health in the warm season. Temperatures dipped to -89°C in the stratosphere at northern Canadian weather stations - the lowest temperatures in about half a century. Extreme cold permits chemical reactions to take place between the polar stratospheric clouds and chlorofluorocarbons, releasing ozone-destroying chlorine. Ozone over the Arctic was about 10% thinner this January than last.

Budget Delayed by Weather

Nunavut politicians took a snow day on February 24, as a raging blizzard forced the government to cancel the tabling of its 2005-06 budget in the legislature in Iqaluit. Said Nunavut's finance minister: "I don't think in the history of Canada there's ever been a budget cancelled because of the weather." With winds gusting to 91 km/h in fresh snow, it was a complete whiteout. Even Iqaluit's taxis stopped running.

Rescues More Common in the North

On March 1, abandoning their large canoe in open water when the motor's gas line froze during a blizzard, four aboriginal walrus hunters scrambled onto a chunk of passing ice. Without warning, a huge wave swept an elderly hunter into the ocean. Just as unexpectedly, another monster wave literally picked him up and threw him back onto the ice. A helicopter rescue brought the hunters safely home to Cape Dorset, Nunavut.

Securing Sovereignty in the North

After waiting nearly a week for a spell of fierce Arctic weather to subside on April 6, a small contingent of Canadian soldiers driving military snowmobiles fanned out across the Canadian Arctic archipelago. The patrol was supposed to begin at the end of March but high winds and low visibility prevented the patrol from reaching Isachsen until four days later. Once the maneuvers got underway, bad weather continued to dog the Canadian Ranger patrol, delaying a simulated plane crash intended to train the reservists as first responders. It was a total whiteout, grounding all aircraft for a couple of days.

Record Snowy Year in Parts of the Nunavut

In Rankin Inlet, Nunavut nearly 300 cm of snow fell from September to May inclusive; that is about 250% more than normal. In April alone, 94.6 cm of snow fell during the month. Huge daily snowfalls are rare in that part of the Arctic. On average, only one snowfall event of 12 cm or more occurs every two years at Rankin Inlet. In October 2004, there were two such events. In total, October had 73.4 cm of snow, compared to a normal of 23.1 cm. Both April and October established new monthly high snowfall records. Other stations also reported heavy snowfalls. For example, Arviat had a winter total to the middle of May of 274 cm compared to a normal of 104 cm. The 26.4 cm of snowfall on April 28 was the heaviest one-day snowfall in Rankin Inlet. Snow loads caused lake and river overflows and contributed to several fatalities in the Northwest Territories this spring.

Dramatic Rescue on Mount Logan

At the end of May, bad weather trapped three British Columbia climbers on the Yukon's Mount Logan - Canada's highest peak. The weather had been treacherous with very high winds, large snowfalls and cold temperatures. Unfortunately, although authorities were alerted to the peril, foul weather hampered rescue helicopters from reaching the climbers. The trio were stuck without shelter at 5,500 metres in a raging blizzard for two days. The men were afflicted with hypothermia, severe frostbite and altitude sickness. One of the rescued climbers had to have all of his fingers amputated.

The Green Lane^TM,
Environment Canada's World Wide Web Site.