Environment Canada: Atlantic Region News Releases

Tropical Storm and Hurricane Activity in 2002

It used to be that an average of four tropical storms or hurricanes posed a threat to Canada or its territorial waters each year. However, since 1995 - when the entire Atlantic Ocean saw its busiest season since World War II - the average number of these storms affecting Canada increased to between five and six a year.

For the entire Atlantic Ocean, an average of 5.9 hurricanes form each year. In 2002 a weak El Niņo helped keep the total down to only four hurricanes, however, 12 tropical storms still found a way to develop and three of them affected Canada. The 2002 season was slow to start, but the flood gates opened in September when eight storms formed making a new monthly record for the Atlantic Ocean .

Despite being a quieter year, one of the three tropical storm systems that affected Canada in 2002 was Hurricane Gustav which made landfall along the south coast of Cape Breton in the early hours of September 12, 2002.  It delivered over 100 mm of rain in parts of Nova Scotia and winds of 100 km/h of more throughout large portions of Atlantic Canada. Damage included localized coastal flooding from storm surge in the southern Gulf of St Lawrence and downed trees from high winds across Prince Edward Island.

The year 2002 marked the third consecutive year in which a named storm made landfall in Canada. Hurricane Gustav was the fourth full-fledged hurricane to hit Canada since 1995. They were Hurricane Luis in1995, Hurricane Hortense in1996, Hurricane Michael in 2000, and Hurricane Gustav in 2002.

For more information, please contact:
Peter Bowyer
Program Manager
Canadian Hurricane Centre
Environment Canada
(902) 426-9181