Hurricanes, derechos and more: Top 10 Canadian weather stories of 2022 | 24CA News
While 2022 wasn’t as dangerous weather-wise as 2021, there was nonetheless a whole lot of extreme climate Canadians needed to cope with this yr.
“Last year was dramatic, spectacular. I mean, my gosh, I don’t think I thought there’d ever be a year like last year,” stated David Phillips, senior climatologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada who has been compiling the annual Top 10 climate tales of the yr for 27 years.
“And truly, I don’t think I’ll live through another year like that.”
But between unprecedented warmth and fires raging throughout British Columbia, there was nonetheless no scarcity of untamed climate in 2022 — listed below are the highest local weather and climate tales from the final 12 months.
Furious Fiona strikes Eastern Canada
The No. 1 climate story throughout the nation this yr was Hurricane Fiona.
The 2022 Atlantic hurricane season was a quiet one — at first. But by the start of September the primary hurricane — Danielle — shaped within the North Atlantic Ocean, adopted by Hurricane Earl. Then, issues actually ramped up.
Fiona shaped as a tropical melancholy within the mid-Atlantic on Sept. 14 and shortly strengthened. It moved east, devastating Turks and Caicos, elements of the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, reaching a Category 3 storm standing. It ultimately moved north, merged with one other climate system and hit Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island as a post-tropical storm.
Though Fiona was downgraded to post-tropical, it did not imply there was any aid for these in Atlantic Canada. The area skilled heavy rains, sturdy winds and unimaginable storm surges. Homes have been swept out to sea.
“For me, really what created the damage and the impact was the strength of the winds [and] the duration,” Phillips stated. “We saw in five provinces, winds that … exceeded gusts of over 100 kilometres per hour.”
Though gusts have been even greater, the Atlantic provinces and Quebec noticed sustained winds of 100 km/h for six to 12 hours, Phillips stated.
At its peak, rainfall surpassed 30 mm per hour, with complete rainfall reaching wherever from 80 to 150 mm. Three individuals died and greater than 600,000 properties and companies misplaced energy.
WATCH | Waiting on aid funding:
Victims of tropical storm Fiona say they’re nonetheless ready on a $300-million aid program promised by Ottawa after the storm devastated Atlantic Canadian communities in September.
Billion-dollar derecho rakes throughout Ontario and Quebec
Most individuals in Ontario and Quebec know the way damaging winds will be in the summertime months, created by warmth and humidity. But on the May lengthy weekend, a brand new windy phrase entered their vocabulary: derecho.
A derecho is a long-lived, straight-lined wind occasion that may typically accompany a line of thunderstorms.
On May 21, a derecho shaped in southwestern Ontario and simply stored shifting. In Ontario, three tornadoes have been reported in Uxbridge and London. Some of the height wind gusts have been at Lake Memphremagog in Quebec at 144 km/h. The Region of Waterloo airport in Ontario reported a file velocity gust of 132 km/h. Airports in Ottawa and Toronto, in the meantime, recorded peak gusts of 120 km/h.
“What was so fascinating was that it was almost as if it just targeted cities,” Phillips stated. “I mean, it went through Windsor, London, Toronto, Kingston, and then Ottawa and then kind of skipped Montreal — but Montreal still had damage — and then into the other major cities in Quebec.”
The derecho felled timber, took down energy traces and resulted within the deaths of 11 individuals — one from drowning and 10 from fallen timber.
In the top, greater than 1,000,000 insurance coverage claims have been filed, topping $1 billion in damages. In phrases of insured losses, it ranked because the sixth largest climate occasion in Canadian historical past.
Manitoba’s drenching spring
“The Manitoba story was big for me,” Phillips stated.
At first, it did not seem like Manitoba’s flood season would not be a lot worse than some other years, Phillips stated. But by May 1, six moist climate programs had moved by means of elements of the province, following vital winter snowfall within the south. In truth, most areas obtained roughly 150 cm of snow, the province’s third-highest snowfall since 1872.
“It was the fact that it was geographically so extensive. It wasn’t just the Red [River]. It was the Porcupine River, it was the Rat River, the Winnipeg River, the Souris and the Fisher River. [They] were all too much water — and not flowing.”
Forty-five municipalities and 9 First Nation communities needed to declare states of emergency as floodwaters washed out roads, flooded properties and threatened ingesting water.
“It just wore people down. It was almost like flood fatigue,” Phillips stated.”It was just, like, hanging over your head — not just a one-week issue; it was like six to eight weeks. And people were just worn out by it.”
Return to scorching and dry climate below the dome
If 2022 introduced the phrase derecho to residents of Ontario and Quebec, 2021 introduced the phrase “heat dome” not solely to Canadians however to these world wide who watched the calamitous climate unfold.
This yr, Canada skilled some extra under-the-dome climate. In the West, it was from August to October, with some calling it “Augtober.”
That was good news for some farmers who’d had a late begin to the planting and rising season. From the center of August to October, greater than 500 most day by day temperature data have been overwhelmed. Lytton, B.C. — the positioning of final yr’s disastrous fireplace and the place of Canada’s highest temperature ever recorded at 49.6 C — as soon as once more broke a file at 39.6 C, the best temperature ever recorded within the province within the month of September.
Meanwhile, within the east, summer-like climate lasted till mid-November because of a “Bermuda high” that settled over the area. Though when summer season ended, cooler temperatures prevailed, however by November many locations had recorded their all-time warmest temperatures that late within the yr. Flowers started to bloom and other people loved additional time within the heat and solar.
Wildfires on two coasts
Fire season wasn’t almost as dangerous in 2022 because it was the yr earlier than. In truth, there have been about 75 per cent fewer wildfires in comparison with 2021.
However, that did not final.
In July, Lytton turned the main target as soon as once more, with a serious fireplace breaking out simply west of the village that was laid naked by wildfires in 2021. By July 27, greater than 100 individuals have been pressured from their properties. More fires continued to rage, together with close to Penticton. High warmth and winds helped the fireplace to unfold, ultimately placing 375 properties within the village of Olalla below an evacuation order.
Meanwhile, central Newfoundland noticed its worst wildfire season in 60 years as a result of hotter-than-normal temperatures and dry situations. One fireplace grew to 172 sq. kilometres, whereas one other reached 56 sq. kilometres.
The province ultimately declared a state of emergency on Aug. 6 and water bombers have been introduced in from Quebec.
A wintry spring in British Columbia (with out the flood)
After a brutal 2021, British Columbians might have been trying ahead to a break. But they did not get it in spring.
Unfortunately, spring was cool and moist and fairly overcast. On April 16, 27 minimal low-temperature data have been set, together with in Vancouver which had its coldest day since record-keeping started in 1892. In Victoria, from May 20 to June 18, 23 of these 30 days have been wet.
But there have been some positives: the cooler, wetter situations meant low flood danger and a late begin to the fireplace season.
However, it wasn’t good news for farmers: it was too chilly to plant, too moist to plant — after which it was each. Honeybees weren’t out en masse to assist pollination, and by harvest time, some fruit was half its anticipated measurement or not candy sufficient.
Super storms monitor throughout the Prairies in July
The Prairies are not any stranger to extreme thunderstorms. But this yr, they bought slammed laborious.
July was the area’s stormiest month, bringing 4 highly effective storms that included heavy rain, sturdy winds, giant hail and tornadoes, stretching from the foothills of Alberta to japanese Manitoba.
On July 7, throughout a strong thunderstorm, an EF-2 twister touched down in Bergen, Alta.; EF-2 storms have sustained winds of 179 to 218 km/h. The storm additionally pounded elements of Calgary with wind gusts of 104 km/h.
The days following weren’t significantly better. Hail the scale of golf balls and 4 tornadoes touched down in elements of Saskatchewan. Another twister touched down close to Argyle, Man. On July 8, lightning struck and killed 28 cattle.
And the area continued to be pounded by extreme storms and tornadoes, lasting the remainder of the month. They precipitated injury to forests, properties and farmers misplaced treasured crops.
Montreal swamped by humongous rain system
Climate change is believed to be contributing to extra frequent heavy rains, and cities are seeing the implications. Urban flooding is changing into extra widespread.
On Sept. 13, Montreal and a few surrounding areas skilled a deluge. Moisture introduced up from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean dumped 80 to 100 mm of rain in simply two hours.
L’Assomption, Longueuil and Joliette in Quebec obtained as much as 120 mm of rain in two hours. Trois-Rivières and Shawinigan obtained 70 mm of rain.
The rain snarled site visitors and interrupted service on Montreal’s Metro practice system after water flowed into a number of stations. It’s estimated that the occasion price $180 million in insured losses.
Record-breaking chilly in time for the vacations
Winter chilly descended in elements of the nation after a chilly air mass from Siberia prolonged down into northern and Western Canada starting in late December 2021, and it simply continued on in January.
From B.C. to Saskatchewan to elements of Manitoba to northern Ontario, there have been chilly climate alerts galore, with wind chills starting from –40 C to –55 C. Outdoor occasions have been cancelled and emergency shelters have been arrange. Some automobile batteries could not hack it and died.
But it was the Yukon the place temperatures actually plummeted. Between Jan. 5 and seven, Whitehorse skilled its coldest temperature in roughly 17 years: –44.6 C. And Watson Lake reached a record-breaking –52.2 C on Jan. 6.
Three weekend January storms stress Atlantic Canada
Atlantic Canadians had a harsh begin to 2022 themselves. Three storms arrived with both rain or snow, together with wind, pummelling the realm starting on Jan. 7.
That storm introduced as much as 30 to 50 cm of snow to northern Cape Breton, together with 80 km/h winds. The subsequent day it was Newfoundland’s south coast that bought hit with a nor’easter, dumping 45 cm of heavy snow and highly effective winds.
Then, on Jan. 15, one other storm hit elements of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Cape Breton as soon as once more bought hit with heavy precipitation within the type of 84 mm of rain and an extra 11 cm of snow.
Finally, a 3rd storm left greater than 60,000 Nova Scotians with out energy.
In the top, the storms precipitated chaos as buses have been pulled off the street, tens of hundreds have been with out electrical energy and companies have been pressured to shut.
