Today's Weather Trivia

[pandr]

April 23rd 1875...

A group trekking from Fort Whoop-Up near Lethbridge, AB, and Fort Shaw, Montana, encountered bitter cold and deep snow.They finally dug a snow cave for shelter, staying put for 2 nights while the blizzard raged. When they emerged, they found an RCMP Constable frozen, leaning against his horse. Guided by pure instinct, the snow-blinded and frosbitten group eventually reached Fort Shaw.

[pandr]

April 24th 1922

Hoping there were survivors aboard the downed lighthouse supply steamer Lambton, tugs left Sault Ste. Marie ON, for Caribou Lake on Lake Superior. Besides keeping a watch along shore for signs of life, rescuers seached the shifting ice for wreckage. To make matters worse, winds reached gale-force, turning into one of the worst storms the seamen had ever seen.

[pandr]

April 25th 2010

British explorers on Ellef Ringnes Island, NU, reported a three minute rain shower. The rain fell on the team's ice base about 3900 km north of Ottawa. April showers in the Canadian High Arctic are freak events. The weather station at Alert, NU, whose observations date back to 1950, has never recorded April rain. The earliest rain on record there fell on May 21, 1988.

[pandr]

April 26th 1900

Fire swept through Ottawa-Hull, ON, driving 15,000 people from their homes. Four died in the wild fires. The fire spread quickly in a strong gale. Northeast winds blew flames out of control in the direction of lumber piles and mills on both sides of the Ottawa River. People feared that the centre of Ottawa might catch fire if the winds changed. Hundreds of homeless slept in the open air.

[pandr]

April 27th 2010

After 2 months without snow, Ottawa, ON, received some snow but not enough to affect gardens. The warmest spring was underway, and the snow didn't stand a chance of sticking around. However, Montreal, QC, was blanketed with nearly 30CM of snow, astonishing residents. The shock was short lived; 30 hours later the snow was gone.

[pandr]

April 28th 1967

A 3-day snowfall in southern Alberta brought Lethbribge's total snowfall for April to 162CM and plugged roads with 3Metre drifts thrown up by 90KM/H winds. The snow isolated farms, closed schools and starved thousands of cattle, many within sight of barns. Helicopters were used to airlift hay to stranded herds and milk for babies. Snowmobile clubs helped ferry food, hospital patients and doctors

[pandr]

April Weather Quiz

What season is considered the best time to fall in love, begin dating someone, meet someone new or get married?

a-Winter
b-spring
c-summer
d-fall
e-no difference

Answer to come!

That would be b-spring.:yes:

[pandr]

April 30th 1955

A blizzard plastered 27 cm of snow over the Avalon Peninsula, chocking the streets of St. Johns, NL, with snow, blocking highways and driving sea ice against the coastline. The season's snowfall totalled 568 cm, the worst since the winter of 1893-94. Conception Bay, NL, was nearly emptied of ice one day only to fill again the next, thus halting ferry services.

[pandr]

May 1st 1895

The forcast called for a thunderous downpour of rain over Winnipeg, MB, but the result was only a slight shower. Instead of the deluge, a shower of another kind resulted. Onto sidewalks and roads, as well as into homes, millions of large black ants crawled out -- most were wingless. Scientests described them as large, black-bodied specimens, similar to the African ant, with strong nippers.

[pandr]

May 2nd 1921

One of the most violent all-day windstorms in years raked Saskatchewan.
The gale ended all seeding in the province and some land had to be reseeded. In Regina, SK, the wind blew down fences, chimneys and signs.
In Saskatoon, SK, winds carried away the weather recording instruments at the University of Saskatchewan. The winds blew away many shacks and frame stables in all parts of the city.

[pandr]

May 3rd 1955

During the worst storm on record, rain snow and wind made a shambles of communications in Saskatchewan, causing flooding and killing hundreds of cattle. Saskatoon, SK, became isolated when rain and 15 cm of snow snapped power lines and cables and halted all methods of transportation. Amateur radio operators helped get electrical services restored and relayed messages outside the province.

[henric]

5-10 January 1998, Canadian Ice Storm..

For six days in January 1998, freezing rain coated Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick with 7-11 cm (3-4 in) of ice. Trees and hydro wires fell and utility poles and transmission towers came down causing massive power outages, some for as long as a month. It was the most expensive natural disaster in Canada. According to Environment Canada, the ice storm of 1998 directly affected more people than any other previous weather event in Canadian history.

Location:
Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick, Canada

Size of the Ice Storm of 1998:

•The water equivalent of freezing rain, ice pellets and a little snow was double previous major ice storms.

•The area covered was massive, extending from Kitchener, Ontario through Quebec to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, and also covering parts of New York and New England.

•Most freezing rain lasts for a few hours. In the ice storm of 1998, there were more than 80 hours of freezing rain, nearly double the annual average.

Casualties and Damage from the Ice Storm of 1998:

•28 people died, many from hypothermia,

•945 people were injured.

•Over 4 million people in Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick lost power.

•About 600,000 people had to leave their homes.

•130 power transmission towers were destroyed and more than 30,000 utility poles fell.

•Millions of trees fell, and more continued to break and fall for the rest of the winter.

•Estimated cost of the ice storm was $5,410,184,000.

•By June 1998, about 600,000 insurance claims totalling more than $1 billion were filed.

Summary of Ice Storm of 1998:

•Freezing rain started on Monday, January 5, 1998 as Canadians were starting back to work after the Christmas holidays.

•The storm coated everything in glassy ice, making all forms of transportation treacherous.

•As the storm continued, layers of ice built up, weighing down power lines and poles, and causing massive power outages.

•At the height of the ice storm, 57 communities in Ontario and 200 in Quebec declared a disaster. More than 3 million people were without power in Quebec and 1.5 million in Eastern Ontario. About 100,000 people went into shelters.

•By Thursday, January 8, the military was brought in to help clear debris, provide medical assistance, evacuate residents, and canvass door-to-door to make sure people were safe. They also worked to restore power.

•Power was restored in most urban areas in a matter of days, but many rural communities suffered for much longer. Three weeks after the beginning of the storm, there were still 700,000 people without power.

•Farmers were especially hard hit. Nearly a quarter of Canada's dairy cows, a third of the crop land in Quebec and a quarter in Ontario were in the affected areas.

•Milk processing plants were shut, and about 10 million litres of milk had to be dumped.

•Much of the sugar bush used by Quebec maple syrup producers was permanently destroyed. It was estimated that it would take 30 to 40 years before syrup production could return to normal.

[pandr]

5-10 January 1998, Canadian Ice Storm..

For six days in January 1998, freezing rain coated Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick with 7-11 cm (3-4 in) of ice. Trees and hydro wires fell and utility poles and transmission towers came down causing massive power outages, some for as long as a month. It was the most expensive natural disaster in Canada. According to Environment Canada, the ice storm of 1998 directly affected more people than any other previous weather event in Canadian history.

Location:
Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick, Canada

Size of the Ice Storm of 1998:

•The water equivalent of freezing rain, ice pellets and a little snow was double previous major ice storms.

•The area covered was massive, extending from Kitchener, Ontario through Quebec to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, and also covering parts of New York and New England.

•Most freezing rain lasts for a few hours. In the ice storm of 1998, there were more than 80 hours of freezing rain, nearly double the annual average.

Casualties and Damage from the Ice Storm of 1998:

•28 people died, many from hypothermia,

•945 people were injured.

•Over 4 million people in Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick lost power.

•About 600,000 people had to leave their homes.

•130 power transmission towers were destroyed and more than 30,000 utility poles fell.

•Millions of trees fell, and more continued to break and fall for the rest of the winter.

•Estimated cost of the ice storm was $5,410,184,000.

•By June 1998, about 600,000 insurance claims totalling more than $1 billion were filed.

Summary of Ice Storm of 1998:

•Freezing rain started on Monday, January 5, 1998 as Canadians were starting back to work after the Christmas holidays.

•The storm coated everything in glassy ice, making all forms of transportation treacherous.

•As the storm continued, layers of ice built up, weighing down power lines and poles, and causing massive power outages.

•At the height of the ice storm, 57 communities in Ontario and 200 in Quebec declared a disaster. More than 3 million people were without power in Quebec and 1.5 million in Eastern Ontario. About 100,000 people went into shelters.

•By Thursday, January 8, the military was brought in to help clear debris, provide medical assistance, evacuate residents, and canvass door-to-door to make sure people were safe. They also worked to restore power.

•Power was restored in most urban areas in a matter of days, but many rural communities suffered for much longer. Three weeks after the beginning of the storm, there were still 700,000 people without power.

•Farmers were especially hard hit. Nearly a quarter of Canada's dairy cows, a third of the crop land in Quebec and a quarter in Ontario were in the affected areas.

•Milk processing plants were shut, and about 10 million litres of milk had to be dumped.

•Much of the sugar bush used by Quebec maple syrup producers was permanently destroyed. It was estimated that it would take 30 to 40 years before syrup production could return to normal.

Remember it well Henric, My neighbour was a lineman and spent much time in Que.

[pandr]

May 4th 1971

Heavy rain led to an earth cave-in at St-Jean-Vianney north of Quebec City, QC. The soil turned soft and musty and became sludge. A bus, several cars and 44 homes were swallowed up into a yawning gash 600m wide and 30m deep, killing 31 people. A pilot describing the scene said a whoole chunk of earth simply dropped out of sight into the hole

[pandr]

May 5th 1952 <br />
<br />
During a severe thunderstorm, a bolt of lightning touched off a blaze that destroyed the town hall in Blind River, ON. It also destroyed the town's police station. The police chief...

[henric]

Big storm hits Alaska as weary residents dig out...

Published: January 12, 2012 6:57 PM

14610

Photo credit: Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management | A man stands on a porch roof of a house buried in snow in Cordova, Alaska. (Jan. 7, 2012)

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The worst winter anyone can remember in Alaska has piled snow so high people can't see out the windows, kept a tanker in ice-choked waters from delivering fuel on time and turned snow-packed roofs into sled runs.

While most of the nation has gone without much seasonal snow, the state already known for winter is buried in weather that has dumped more than twice as much snow as usual on its largest city, brought out the National Guard and put a run on snow shovels.

As a Russian tanker crawled toward the iced-in coastal community of Nome to bring in much-needed fuel, weather-weary Alaskans awoke Thursday to more of the white stuff — more than a foot was expected to fall in Anchorage — and said enough was enough.

"The scary part is, we still have three more months to go," said Kathryn Hawkins, a veterinarian who lives in the coastal community of Valdez, about 100 miles southeast of Anchorage. "I look out and go, 'Oh my gosh, where can it all go?'"

The city has seen more than 26 feet of snowfall since November. Snow is piled 8 feet high outside Hawkins' home and she can't see out the front or back of her house. Her 12-year-old son has been sliding off the roof into the yard.

In the nearby fishing community of Cordova, the Alaska National Guard is out helping clear snow from streets and roofs. The city already been buried under 172 inches of snow since November; snow began falling again after midnight Wednesday.

"You actually get to a point where it almost becomes it's expected, that it's going to be snowing," said Teresa Benson, a Cordova resident and district manager for the National Forest Service.

The city is struggling with a place to put the snow that has already fallen before dealing with more. Front-end loaders are taking scoop after scoop of snow from large dump piles to a snow-melting machine.

"That's our big issue, getting our snow dumps cleared for the next barrage of snow," Cordova spokesman Allen Marquette said.

More than 186 inches of snow has fallen in Cordova this season, including 59 inches for the first 10 days of January alone, according to the National Weather Service. The seasonal record of 221.5 inches was set in 1955-56.

Anchorage had 81.6 inches fall as of Wednesday — more than twice the average snowfall of 30.1 inches for the same time period. The weather service counts July 1 through the end of June as a snow season.

This year's total already broke the record 77.3 inches that fell during the same time period in the 1993-94 season, and another 3 inches has fallen since midnight Wednesday. If it keeps up, Anchorage is on track to have the snowiest winter ever, surpassing the previous record of 132.8 inches in 1954-55.

The massive snowfall is the result of two atmospheric patterns "that are conspiring to send an unending series of storms into Alaska," said Jeff Masters, a meteorologist who runs Weather Underground, a meteorology service that tracks strange and extreme weather.

For the second winter in a row, the Pacific weather phenomenon known as La Nina is affecting the weather. But instead of plentiful snow in the Lower 48, Alaska is getting slammed because of a second weather pattern. That's called the Arctic Oscillation and it has been strong this year, changing air patterns to the south and keeping the coldest winter air locked up in the Arctic.

"Alaska is definitely getting the big dump," said Bill Patzert, a climate expert at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Many of the lower 48 states have seen an unusually mild start to the winter. A storm dumped several inches of snow on northwestern Wisconsin and western Iowa before moving eastward and to start blanketing Milwaukee, St. Louis and Chicago, which was expected to get up to 8 inches by Friday morning.

In the ice-choked frozen waters of the Bering Sea, a Russian tanker loaded with 1.3 million gallons of fuel is progressing steadily toward Nome, following the path being painstakingly plowed by a Coast Guard icebreaker. Thick ice, wind and unfavorable ocean currents had initially slowed the vessel's progress, but as of 2 p.m. Thursday the tanker and the icebreaker were 46 miles from Nome and likely to arrive Friday, said Coast Guard spokesman David Mosley.

The city missed its final pre-winter delivery of fuel by barge when a big storm swept the region last fall. Without the delivery, Nome could run short of fuel before another barge arrives in late spring. That's raised the specter of climbing gas prices — up to $9 a gallon if fuel has to be flown in. Gasoline was selling for $5.43 on Thursday.

The weather has put a strain on the state, which estimates the cost of paying for guard members in Cordova, heavy equipment, fuel and other costs at $775,000, said emergency management spokesman Jeremy Zidek.

In Anchorage, schools were open Thursday, but some school bus routes were canceled because of whiteout driving conditions.

"I think people were girding their loins for a long winter," said Anchorage police Lt. Dave Parker. He hasn't seen an upsurge of crime, but "by the end of March, there might be a few frustrated people."

In Cordova, shovel-makers were making emergency shipments to help out. There are plenty of standard shovels around town, but they're lacking a version with a scoop that can push a cubic foot of snow or better at a time.

The new shovels cost about $50 each, and the city is paying for them with emergency funds.

The Yukon ergo sleigh shovels, with a 26-inch scoop, have a huge advantage over regular shovels. "Trying to lift snow all day with those is pretty backbreaking," city spokesman Tim Joyce said.

"We have the National Guard right now using the standard shovel, and they're getting pretty trashed everyday — not the shovels but the Guardsmen themselves," he said.

The warmer temperatures — about 35 degrees midday Wednesday — brought another hazard to the Prince William Sound community of 2,200 people: avalanche danger.

There's one road leading out, and it was closed though it could be opened for emergency vehicles.

The city also is warning people not to stand under the eaves of their houses to clear snow off the roof: "There's a real high potential that if it does slide, they'd be buried," Joyce said.

The snow has damaged four commercial buildings and two homes and evacuated a 24-unit apartment complex in Cordova.

The current storm system is expected to be gone by Friday, but it was also expected to get much colder. "So all this wet stuff will turn very, very hard and that's going to make it more difficult to shovel," Marquette said.

Meteorologists say high temperatures this weekend should top out from zero to 5 degrees, with lows of about 10 below.

If there's one fan of the snow in Valdez, it's 12-year-old Trevor, Kathryn Hawkins' son. School is out and the snow is piled so high on the roof that he's been sliding off of it into the yard.

"When it first started snowing, he said, 'More, more, more snow,' and I'm like, 'Will you stop it? We've had enough.'" Hawkins said.

"And that was before all this came. He said, 'I want to slide off the roof again,'" she said.

"And now he can, to his heart's content."

[pandr]

May 6th 2010

The combination of heavy snows and high winds led to the death of 40 horses during a violent stampede near Fort MacLeod, AB. The foul weather caused the herd to huddle and panic, trampelling smaller horses and pushing others against barbed wire fences. Ranchers lost up to 15% of their calves, either trampled in fields or drowned in dugouts trying to flee blizzards

[pandr]

May 7th 2001

Heavy pack ice kept more than 3000 fishers from catching crab and lobster along the Newfoundland coast. Because of the ice, sealers stayed onshore, and because of this, officials decided to extend the hunt off the north east coast for an extra two weeks. Ice conditrions around Newfoundland and the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence were said to be the worst in years.

[pandr]

May 8th 1901

At noon, lightning struck the Bullock School, about 8 km from Beebe-Plain, QC. The teacher was at dinner and escaped. About a dozen people in the building were all more or less injured. Two girls who were sitting together had their hair burned and their shoes torn from their feet. They remained unconscious and paralyzed in their lower limbs for some time.

[pandr]

May 9th 2010

After three seasons devoid of percipitation, water levels in many Ontario and Quebec rivers and lakes were their lowest in decades. With water down more than 1 metre, docks were useles and beaches were mostly mud, stumps and rocks. Riviere des Mille Iles, QC, recorded it's lowest water level ever, prompting the mayor of Rosemere QC, to say that "you could walk on it".

[pandr]

May 12th 2004

For drivers in Amherstburg, ON, it was a scene right out of a horror movie. About 20 dead and 12 injured seagulls littered the ground near River Canard. Amherstburg police figured the birds died during an overnight storm, possibly as the result of a lightning strike. One motorist said when she saw the birds it was a frightful and horrible scene.

[pandr]

May 11th 2004

A wicked Colorado storm dumped mounds of wet snow from Calgary, AB, to Kenora, ON. Farmers welcomed the moisture, but for weary city folk, it was like winter all over again. Snowplows were brought out of storage to clear blocked city streets. The long line-ups of deserted cars and trucks on the Trans-Canada Highway for about 2 days cost the Canadian transportation sector millions of dollars.

[pandr]

May 12th 1938

In Alberta, 120-km/h winds packed with snow and soil swept through Edmonton, disrupting communications and inflicting extensive damage. In Calgary, a solid wall of dirt blotted out the sun. Rain, lighter winds, and then heavy, wet snow followed, but shortly after 7:00 PM, a huge rainbow appeared. Old-timers could not remember a dust storm arriving so suddenly without warning.

[pandr]

May 13th 1986

Calgarians slopped and even skied their way through a May blizzard that dropped more than 30 cm of snow over 2 days. Strong winds of 80 km/h toppled trees and power lines. An hour before, the sun had been shining and temperatures had soared to 15°C. Alberta's Transportation Minister called it the worst spring storm in history.

[pandr]

May 14th 2009

The Victoria Day long weekend was one of the chilliest in Yellowknife, NT's weather history. The city saw a record low of -9.6°C. On the same weekend, Aklavik, NT, reached temperatures as high as 18.3°C, leaving Yellowknife residents wondering when summer would make its way south. Yellowknife campers toughed out the holiday weather, but one complained that his frozen beer had exploded overnight.

[pandr]

May 15th 1917

Near Wainwright, AB, a funnel-shaped wind hoisted a small shack off its foundation and whirled it some 3 m above the ground. During the cyclone, the air was filled with sticks, stones, glass, and other missiles. When the shack landed, 5 people were buried under the debris but escaped unharmed, apart from a few bruises and a bad scare. The father/husband was pinned under the stove.

[pandr]

May 16th 1853

A terrible fire, driven by a fierce northwest gale, raged north of Ottawa, ON, and along the Ottawa River, sweeping away fences, bridges, houses, mills, cattle, and even humans. It consumed 2 churches and 30 other buildings, including grist and saw mills on Calumet Island in Quebec and in Pembroke, ON. About 200 families lost their homes. Fortunately, heavy rain halted the fire's progress

[pandr]

May 17th 1944

Frost damaged tomatoes and other tender early plants in the Ottawa Valley. The cold was so severe-the worst in 54 years-that plant stalks hardened and turned black. Early market garden crops were a total loss. Ice 1/4 inch thick formed in farm pails and wash basins. The ground temperature at night touched -4°C.

[pandr]

May 18th 2003

May had been grey, cool, and rainy in southern Ontario. Farmers feared losing crops seeded earlier or being unable to seed at all. A warm fall, a cold spring, and a nasty parasitic mite wreaked havoc on half the province's 35,000 beehives. High honey prices and a warm fall had tempted beekeepers to prolong operations, but it only gave mites more time to infest and destroy many hives.

[pandr]

May 20th 2006

After 9 days of rain, the Yamaska and Aux Brochets Rivers in Quebec overflowed, forcing about 200 people from their homes. Meteorologists blamed a stationary upper low hovering over the Great Lakes for dropping more than 140 mm of rain. Evacuees faced water-filled basements upon their return. Cowansville was the worst hit.

[pandr]

May 21st 1979

A tornado tore part of the roof off the annex of a wheat pool elevator in Regina, SK. It also destroyed a farmhouse and barn, and sent a truck flying across a yard. The farmer, who was working in a nearby field, escaped injury. The twisting winds drove about a dozen splinters of wood more than a metre into a house, overturned a stove and chairs, and created a 1-by-2-metre hole in the kitchen wall

[pandr]

May 22nd 2004

In a rare event, 2 tornadoes struck southwestern Ontario within minutes, just a few kilometres apart. The tornado that touched down near Stratford likely packed winds of 350 km/h, the fiercest to hit Ontario in 8 years. It was a miracle that no one was hurt. The storm uprooted giant trees and picked up a truck from a driveway, spun it around, and dropped it about 10 metres away on a lawn.

[pandr]

May 23rd 1940

Residents of Hazelton, BC, were surprised by the strength of a whirlwind. Its first mighty blast cut a path 10 m wide and took the roof off a fish storehouse. Some big logs were also carried 150 m away before hitting the ground and splitting in two. A family tried going outside, but the wind was so strong they could not get their door open. Two hours later, a second blast inflicted more damages.

[pandr]

May 26th 2009

Across the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland and Labrador, large snowflakes began trickling out of the sky for most of the day. It was hardly a blizzard-the accumulation was mostly limited to car windshields and open fields. In total, 5 cm of snow fell, yet it was a record snowfall for this date. Most residents in St. John's were horrified by the sight of snow in late May.

[henric]

Tornadoes cause millions in damage in Quebec

26/05/2012 7:26:10 PM

CTVNews.ca Staff

Environment Canada has confirmed that two low-level tornadoes hit a rural area of Quebec, just northwest of Montreal, Friday evening, levelling buildings, uprooting trees and demolishing a 200-year-old church.

An F-1 tornado travelling at a speed of 150 kilometres per hour swept through the town of St. Benoît de Mirabel Friday at approximately 8:15 p.m., said Environment Canada meteorologist René Héroux.

This followed closely on the tail of an F-0 tornado with winds of 120 km/h that hit the town of Brownsburg-Chatham at approximately 8:00 p.m., said Héroux.

The damage caused by the low-level twisters -- the scale measuring these tornadoes ranges from F-0 to F-5 -- is estimated to be in the millions of dollars. The storms tore roofs off of houses, smashed windows, uprooted trees and knocked electrical poles to the ground.

In St. Benoît de Mirabel, the 200-year-old Grand Fresniere Presbyterian Church was reduced to rubble.

The tornadoes also knocked down 35 to 40 hydro poles, cutting electricity in the region.

The tornadoes were part of a series of storms and heavy winds that tore through the province Friday.

Mirabel resident Johanne Aubin said she took her children into the basement after struggling to keep the doors to her home closed against the howling winds.

"It lasted maybe three minutes," Aubin told CTV Montreal. "We used all our force to keep the doors closed, but the wind was just too strong."

More than 30,000 Quebecers lost electricity Friday night as a result of the extreme weather. By noon on Saturday more than 90 per cent had had their electricity restored.

According to officials, approximately six tornadoes hit the province every year.

With files from CTV Montreal's Lori Graham and Camille Ross and The Canadian Press

[pandr]

May 27th 1924

During a heavy rain shower, a miniature cyclone passed through Wrentham, AB. In crossing the school grounds, it picked up 2 of the outbuildings and moved them a distance of 15 m. Other small buildings were knocked over, giving that part of town the appearance of a morning after Halloween.

[pandr]

May 28th 1950

Winnipeg, MB's, great flood in the spring of 1950 was still an unreal memory to those affected by the greatest disaster ever to hit the province. Most of the 80,000 city and rural dwellers forced from their homes by silt-laden water were still assessing their losses, unable to return to their dwellings. The first of Britain's $310,000 in relief supplies arrived by air as a gift from the British people.

[pandr]

May 29th 2004

Across the Maritimes, May's winterlike weather meant a busy time for companies delivering furnace oil. Consequently, customers had to wait 2 or 3 days for delivery. The unseasonably cool wet weather emptied golf courses on PEI. It was said that even the Scots among Islanders stayed home and practised their putting in the living room

[pandr]

May 31st 2010

In northern and central Quebec, an early snowmelt, increased warmth, and lightning activity increased the forest fire risk. Smoke from forest fires blanketed Montreal, QC—the air quality index in one neighbourhood was more than double the record-breaking smog day in 2008. Smoke from the fires drifted 800 km south, prompting complaints about the smell of smoke from several US states.

[pandr]

June 1st 1901

Soon after a homesteader built a log cabin in Priddis, AB, a whirlwind lifted its roof and top row of logs and set them down on the ground. When the man and his brother woke up, they could see the stars and got up to see what happened. The possible tornado also destroyed a curling rink and a granary.

[pandr]

June 3rd 1910

Near Cowansville, QC, an extensive frost killed entire gardens, except for radishes. Even melons and beans covered with sap buckets, dug in around their roots, froze. Locals said potatoes might grow again but would not increase much in size. One farmer swore never to plant anything again until July 1st; another complained that the climate was 10 months winter and 2 months late fall.

[pandr]

June 5th 2009

Calgarians in Alberta faced a rare June snowfall. When the snow finally ended, it amounted to 3.8 cm, but it disappeared in a few hours. The blast of winter weather left 1,245 bare-skinned participants of The Underwear Affair covered in goose bumps. They had stripped down to raise money for cancer diseases that strike below the belt.

[pandr]

June 15th 1955

1955: A young lad from St. John's, NL, spent a day fishing alone northwest of Tilton, NL. By noon, the sunny day gave way to thick fog. He continued fishing, hoping it would clear in time to get home before nightfall. But it did not. He built a fire, but it could not be seen by the nearby search party. Soon, the fog lifted. He arrived home just as a large crowd was gathering to continue their search.

[pandr]

Juine 16th 1923

A powerful cyclonic storm swept central Saskatchewan. Near Rosetown, a teenage farmhand was killed when his bunkhouse was tossed 50 m through the air. A farmhand asleep in another bunkhouse sailed 0.5 km up and over a haystack, unhurt until struck on the head by a barrel while crawling to shelter. A Saskatoon warehouse was unroofed, then gently moved across the street to a vacant lot.

[pandr]

June 17th 2007

It was a soggy Father's Day in southern Alberta, breaking a 110-year-old rainfall record for the day in Calgary. Residents between Canmore and Cochrane were on flood watch after tributaries of the Bow River surged when as much as 70 mm of rain fell over the weekend. The drizzle and grey sky kept all but die-hard golfers away and prompted cancellation of a Father's Day drag race.

[pandr]

June 18th 2006

Smog grounded small planes in Quebec and left asthma sufferers breathless. Temperatures in Montreal hit 32°C and the humidex approached 40°C -perfect conditions for smog. It blanketed the region from Montreal, north to the Laurentians, east to Lanaudi(re, and northwest to Lachute and St. Jerome, cancelling area sightseeing tours. Montreal's smog could be seen 160 km northwest of the city.

[pandr]

June 12th 1958

Hot, dry weather persisted in Yukon. Suddenly, a dormant forest fire near Lake Laberge roared into life. The tinder-dry bush quickly ignited, sending pungent grey-black smoke thousands of metres into the air. The sun disappeared behind massive clouds. Grey ash, 2-cm thick and resembling a deep snowpack, covered Whitehorse. The mayor ordered residents to prepare to evacuate.

[pandr]

June 22nd 1923

Lightning struck under a bed in Glace Bay, NS, setting the house on fire. The family barely escaped in time-younger children were snatched from their beds as their rooms caught fire. Only a suitcase was saved. The fire had a 30-minute head start before someone sounded the alarm. As it happened, lightning had knocked out telephone service on that street and all callers got was "no answer."

[pandr]

June 23rd 2005

Residents of Winnipeg, MB, dripped perspiration as the day's near-record humidex climbed, before breaking into a merciful thunderstorm around 5:00 PM. Citizens appeared exhausted and cranky. Medical personnel warned seniors, pregnant women, small children, and those with existing medical conditions to use special caution to prevent cramps, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke.

[pandr]

June 24th 1884

Toronto, ON, was treated to the novel sensation of a shower of frogs. After a very heavy rain, Sumach Street and about 2 km from Eastern Avenue to Gerrard Street were covered with small frogs, which descended with the rain. The 2-day rainfall dumped nearly 40 mm on the city. The temperature was a warm 28.9°C

[henric]

June 26, 2012

Debby brings more rain to flooded Florida

Storm finally moving after stalling in Gulf of Mexico

By Michael Peltier, Reuters

15223

TALLAHASSEE, FLA. - Tropical Storm Debby weakened as it drifted eastward over Florida on Tuesday, dumping more rain on flooded areas and sending thousands of people fleeing from rising rivers.

After stalling in the Gulf of Mexico, the storm was finally moving but was expected to take two more days to finish its wet slog across Florida.

Emergency managers in Pasco County on Florida’s central Gulf Coast ordered a mandatory evacuation for 14,000 to 20,000 people living between the Anclote and Pithlachascotee Rivers. The Anclote rose from 9 feet (2.7 metres) before Debby’s approach to more than 27 feet (8.2 metres) on Tuesday, well above major flood level, Pasco County spokesman Eric Keaton said.

Water was ankle-deep to head-high in the evacuation area. Emergency crews had to use boats to reach stranded residents in some areas, and 106 Pasco County homes had been damaged.

“The city has always been prepared for a water event, but I think Mother Nature woke us up as to how fast she can operate,” Keaton said.

The storm was piling up coastal waters and pushing them inland, preventing the rainwater from draining out to sea.

Nearly 20 inches (51 cm) of rain has fallen in two days on Wakulla County, a Gulf Coast county famed for its natural springs. Roads were under water in many parts of the surrounding “Big Bend” area where the Florida Panhandle meets the peninsula.

Parts of Interstate 10 were closed between the capital, Tallahassee, and the Atlantic coast city of Jacksonville. The storm left 29,000 people without power across the central and northern parts of the state, emergency managers said.

Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center said Debby could bring another 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 cm) of rain and possibly tornadoes to north Florida and southeast Georgia in the next two days.

Debby’s top winds weakened to 40 miles per hour (65 km per hour), just over the threshold to remain a tropical storm. It was expected to weaken further as the center moved ashore, but could strengthen back into a tropical storm as it crossed into the Atlantic Ocean, the forecasters said.

The center of circulation was still in the Gulf of Mexico, about 35 miles (55 km) west-northwest of Cedar Key, Florida. But Debby was a large and ragged storm and most of the thunderstorms and rain were northeast of the center, already over Florida.

Tropical storm warnings were in effect for much of Florida’s Gulf coast and could be extended inland as the storm moves slowly east over the state in the next few days.

Debby spawned twisters that killed a woman, badly injured a child and wrecked homes in central Florida in rural Highlands County on Sunday. Florida’s coastal Pinellas County was also hit hard, with flooding in some areas and at least 20 houses with roofs that were partially or fully blown off during a tornado-like storm.

[pandr]

June 27th 2012

2012: Weather Quiz

Aircraft remain at least 32 km from thunderstorms to protect themselves from:
1.lightning
2.hail
3.radiation
4.heavy rain
5.turbulence

[henric]

Lightning..


http://youtu.be/emCcbawLVx4

[pandr]

June 28th 1915

Heavy rains in Edmonton caused the North Saskatchewan River to overflow its banks. The river rose 11 m above the low-level mark and drove nearly 2,500 residents from their homes, destroying 60 houses and a lumber company. Chicken coops, barns, and shacks were swept away. Authorities saved the half-built 105th Street bridge by parking 14 railroad coal cars over the superstructure.

[pandr]

Joune 29th 1955

Heavy rain caused substantial damage in Winnipeg, MB. Backed-up sewers turned streets into small lakes and flooded virtually every basement in Fort Garry and St. Boniface, some to a depth of nearly 1 m. Disrupted phone service left an expectant mother about to deliver so desperate that she ran into the storm and pulled the corner fire alarm. Response was swift and she was soon in hospital

[pandr]

June 30th 1922

A short but fierce lightning and thunderstorm passed over Chipman, AB. A single and close-by thunderclap was probably responsible for the breaking of numerous windows at a farmhouse. Further evidence of lightning was a smoky odour in every room. The sole occupant of the house said the concussion of air also crashed in the kitchen door and created large gaping cracks in the walls of several rooms

[pandr]

July 1st 2005

Heavy fog and runway upgrades at Halifax International Airport in Nova Scotia forced the cancellation of dozens of flights on the Canada Day weekend. The situation was repeated a week later, making successive weekends when hundreds of travellers either camped out at the air terminal or had to find alternative lodging. Warm air overriding cold offshore waters results in profuse fog.

[pandr]

July 2nd 1904 <br />
<br />
A disastrous storm broke loose across southern Manitoba. It featured winds up to 90 km/h, fearful crashes of thunder, vivid forked and sheet lightning, and an apparently perfect...

[pandr]

July 3rd 2006

A dairy farmer from Codben, ON, was lucky to find his cows unharmed after a tornado carried off a calf. The twister ripped in half 1 of his 3 silos and pushed another off its foundation, leaving it standing but changing its shape from circular to oval. Later, he found 1 of his calves, still in a white plastic hutch but unharmed, in a field. It had been lifted over 2 fences.

[pandr]

July 4th 1805

A thunder-and-hail storm struck Quebec City, QC, and environs. The hailstones shattered or cracked hundreds of windows, especially in public buildings and churches, and tore leaves from large plants and the tops of tender flowers. The Quebec Mercury reported hailstones the size of pistol balls, accompanied by solid pieces of ice measuring up to 3 cm long, 2 cm wide, and 0.5 cm thick.

[pandr]

July 5th 1037

It was 45°C in Saskatchewan-the hottest ever in Canada. Starved grasshoppers were too weak to fly. The crushed insects covered railway tracks. Regina authorities worried over water quality and quantity as Wascana Lake shrank. Near Oxbow, farmers harvested old buffalo bones from a dried lake floor. At $12 a ton, it may have been their first decent harvest in years.

[henric]

134° F in Death Valley, California.

by GARY_SATANOVSKY on JULY 10, 2012


Four rows of mountain ranges separate Death Valley from the ocean, where storms form and travel west over land. Moisture-laden air that travels upward along the western slopes condenses and falls as rain; hardly anything gets through to the valley. The lack of precipitation also means little plant cover to shade the ground from the desert sun. Although cool in the winter, summer temperatures in Death Valley frequently reach into the extremes.

On this day, July 10, in 1913, Death Valley reached the highest temperature on record, 134° F. Already a furnace in July, Death Valley’s record-breaking heat on that day was amplified by a hot wind from the Nevada desert. The world record stood for nine years until broken, by two degrees, in Libya.

Death Valley was not always a heat cauldron: evidence suggests that about 10,000 years ago it held a lush lake. Over time, as temperatures rose and less rainfall fell onto the valley, the lake dried up.

[henric]

Montreal Flood of July 14th -1987.


The Montreal Flood of 1987 happened on July 14 of that year when a series of strong thunderstorms crossed the island of Montreal, Canada, between the noon hour and 2:30 p.m. Over 100 mm of rain fell during this very short period of time. The sewer systems were overwhelmed by the deluge and the city was paralyzed by the flooded roads. Autoroute 15, a sunken highway also known as the Decarie Expressway, soon filled with water trapping motorists. Some 350,000 houses lost electricity, and tens of thousands had flooded basements. Two people died, one in a submerged car and another who was electrocuted.

Impact

Heavy rain affected all of the Island of Montreal. There was 57.8 millimetres recorded at Montreal Pierre-Elliot Trudeau International Airport on the West end and 56 millimetres at Rivière-des-Prairies on the East end. However the highest amounts were recorded around the Mont-Royal and downtown areas. The largest official amount has been 103 millimetres at Parc Lafontaine but a non official total of 181 millimetres was recorded by a City of Montreal station in the downtown core. The city of Laval, Quebec that occupy Île Jésus just to the North received a large amount of rain too, up to 72.4 millimetres. However, the region just across the Saint Lawrence River from Montreal was spared the worst as only 10 millimetres is recorded at Saint-Hubert airport and 20 millimetres in Laprairie according to Environment Canada.
Montreal's sewer system was designed to handle only 36 millimetres per hour, according to Gaston Moreau assistant director of public works, which is a 10 year occurrence. The flood is estimated to be at least a 50 years return period. Lightning and wind caused widespread power outages which in turn stopped the pumping system from evacuating the excess water from low lying roads and underpasses. Décarie expressway, a sunken highway, rapidly filled with water descending from access roads and soon became a river. Thousands of motorists were trapped and had to be rescued by firefighters and truckers with higher vehicles. An 80-year-old man died from drowning and another person died of electrocution.
Nearly 350,000 households lost electrical power, 40,000 to 50,000 houses and businesses were flooded causing an estimated CAD$220 million (of 1987) in damages. Traffic was paralyzed for hours as most streets and roads had flooded areas. Montreal Metro, buses and suburban trains service were stopped.The basement of an old-age hospital in the Saint-Henri neighbourhood was flooded and 240 patients were left without electricity, food, and health services for a while.


15368

15369

15370

[pandr]

July 15th 2008

Tornado-hail weather in Taber, AB, shredded half the prized corn crop worth millions of dollars. A wind gust peaked at 215 km/h prior to a communication tower crumpling outside of Seven Persons. It was a non-standard observing site so is not considered a Canadian record. The highest gust record in the national archives since 1953 was 193 km/h at Cape St James, BC, and St John's, NL.

[miketv]

July 15th 2008

Tornado-hail weather in Taber, AB, shredded half the prized corn crop worth millions of dollars. A wind gust peaked at 215 km/h prior to a communication tower crumpling outside of Seven Persons. It was a non-standard observing site so is not considered a Canadian record. The highest gust record in the national archives since 1953 was 193 km/h at Cape St James, BC, and St John's, NL.

Hey pandr, im just west of Taber, i know of that storm, .. that was just crazy!

[pandr]

Hey pandr, im just west of Taber, i know of that storm, .. that was just crazy!

Thanx bud. With 215 km/h winds, I'd be heading for the basement.;)

[pandr]

July 18th 1952

In Crieff, ON, a cyclone ripped out grain and lifted buildings high into the air, then spewed them out as matchwood. Freakish twisters sucked clothes from bedrooms, whipped window curtains from one room but left those in another untouched, and tossed a vehicle 15 m but injured no one. At a Guelph family's farmhouse, 6 young boys escaped injury by hiding under the bed.

[pandr]

July 19th 1960

The famous nine o'clock gun in Vancouver, BC, was not the same after it was hit by lightning in June. The gun seemed to take its own sweet time in firing, about 100 min. past the appointed hour in the evening owing to a wiring defect. The gun is fired by a signalman on Lions Gate Bridge who presses a button that triggers the Stanley Park timepiece.

[pandr]

July 20th 1921

Just as the horses went to the post in the fourth race at the Maisonneuve track in Montreal, QC, a thunderstorm broke, and a heavy squall lifted the roof from the south stands. The roof stayed airborne for a few seconds, then toppled back onto cars parked in a field behind the stands. As the roof came tumbling down, men and women jostled in a wild rush to get out of the way.

[pandr]

July 21st 2007

No umbrellas were permitted at a summer concert at Dartmouth, NS. Thousands of Rihanna fans, their hair dripping and matted to their faces, stood crowded for hours under makeshift ponchos. Despite the foul weather, as the singer was announced, cheers rang out from all corners. When she took the stage, she yelled out: "It's pouring rain outside, but you guys still came out. That's why I love you."

[pandr]

July 22nd 2005

Around 5:00 pm, in the midst of 15 minutes of heavy rain, thunder, and hail, small tornadoes likely touched down in the Moncton, NB, area. Strong winds ripped wiper blades off vehicles, hurled a picnic table and set of swings tethered to a deck into a swimming pool, denuded a walnut tree, and tore beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, and potatoes from a garden, as if it had done by hand.

[GracieAllen]

Yeah pandr....I have a few buddies out that way....scary for sure!

[pandr]

July 24th 2006

A record heat wave gripped Alberta. Increasing power demands for air conditioning and irrigation led to power-conserving 30-minute rotating outages, so when lightning struck a major transmission line, Calgary's afternoon rush hour turned chaotic. Traffic signals were off, part of its light-rail transit system shut down, major roads became parking lots, and commuters were stuck downtown.

[pandr]

July 25th 2007

Sultry Regina, SK, was outdone by Carmen, MB. At 3:00 PM, Carman reached 34°C, with a dew point of 30°, for a humidex rating of 53 (jungle humidity), breaking the record of 52.1 set in Windsor, ON, on June 20, 1953. At risk for heatstroke, racehorses at Winnipeg's Assiniboia Downs did not run; slushies and ice cream flew out of stores; and a new summer power consumption record was set.

[pandr]

July 26th 2005

High river levels due to 6 weeks of intense rains forced officials in Winnipeg, MB, to cancel 2 dragon boat festivals and an annual rowing regatta. Also postponed were learn-to-row lessons. Never before had there been a summer where the Winnipeg Rowing Club couldn't row for half of July.

[pandr]

July 27th 2007

A 15-minute burst of wind, hail, and rain ripped through Huntingdon, QC, at 5:30 PM, snapping hydro poles, uprooting century-old trees, and downing a communications tower. It was a microburst-a sudden, intense downdraft of air that occurs over a small area. Winds of 125 km/h, coupled with bouts of thunder and lightning, caused extensive power outages and heavy crop damage.

[pandr]

July 31st 2007

: A cyclone-tornado hit near Cupar, SK, exactly 61 years after the last one. It destroyed an entire family farm, flipped vehicles, downed trees, and flattened buildings. A giant combine was tossed 300 m, the rear axle of a flatbed truck was ripped off and hurled 100s of m, and steel grain silos were strewn about. Straw blown into a house reached halfway up the refrigerator.

[pandr]

Aug 1st 2007

Tropical Storm Chantal caused massive damage in eastern Newfoundland. At Argentia, almost 200 mm of rain in 12 hours, double the historic rainfall extreme, washed out bridges and submerged roads and parking lots. The annual Royal St. John's Regatta, one of North America's oldest continuous sporting events, was postponed. In Dunville, huge boulders were scattered and several roads mangled.

[pandr]

August 2nd 1937

One of the worst storms in 50 years, featuring strong winds, dazzling lightning, thunder, and a heavy downpour, hit central sections of Manitoba, halting harvesting. At Margaret and Brandon, MB, cyclonic winds flattened grain fields, destroyed sheds and barns, and toppled windmills. At Boissevain, MB, heavy rains ended the oppressive heat. At Souris, MB, 70 mm of rain fell in 35 minutes.

[pandr]

August 3rd 2005

The hottest summer on record across southern Ontario was uncomfortable for both man and beast. At Metro Toronto Zoo, lions and polar bears ate popsicles. Mix blood, some meat, and water, then freeze to get a bloodsicle, a lion's version of a popsicle. Polar bears stayed in the water to keep cool and were fed fishsicles, a frozen concoction of herring, fruit, and food colouring.

[pandr]

August 4th 1895

A brief but intense storm hit near Bridgeport, NS. The winds snapped large elms and other trees, leaving stumps looking like pipe stems. It blew over chimneys, broke windows, levelled fences, and wrecked stone walls. Winds tore apart barns and stables containing large quantities of hay. Under tonnes of hay were buried several cows. Winds also drove a 2-m-long piece of lumber 1 m into the ground.

[pandr]

August 5th 1955

1955: A thunderstorm with high wind and pelting rain brought an end to a record-breaking heat wave in Rosemont, QC. The storm also downed wires, uprooted trees, felled telephone poles, and flooded railway underpasses. The rain was helpful but not drought ending. Some farmers still had to herd their young cattle to get fodder and water, something not normally done until November.

[pandr]

August 7th 2004

Residents of Sundre, AB, cleaned up following yesterday's devastating winds that dismembered hundreds of trees and scattered debris from smashed sheds and trailers. One resident described a dark ugly cloud with 12 fingerlike icicles going up and down from the sky to the ground; another, like a big purple tarp rolling across the sky. Miraculously, nobody was hurt.

[pandr]

August 8th 1955

During an intense thunderstorm, the greatest mock war games in Canadian history got underway for 7 days at a military camp about 50 km from Saint John, NB. Lightning lit up the sky like a shell flash. Rain hit steel helmets and the long barrels of Centurion tanks. Infantry toiled through the storm, digging trenches and weapon pits in the saturated soil, cursing as footsloggers always do

[pandr]

August 9th 2009

Finally some summer weather arrived across Ontario. The day had oppressive humidity, high humidex, and pounding thunderstorms. People scrambled for cover from the rain and lightning. Through Orangeville, Caledon, Barrie, Coldwater, Cookstown and Aurora, ON, wind gusts peaked close to 100 km/h.

[pandr]

August 10th 2004

An F1 tornado touched down in Burnstown, ON, 70 km west of Ottawa, ON. In woodlands, the strong winds uprooted or snapped trees in half. One parent was trying to get her children over their fear of storms when winds with speeds of 180 km/h ripped out towering maple trees as if they were carrots and tossed them across the yard. The kids were absolutely terrified and hysterical.

[pandr]

August 11th 1856

An intense hailstorm occurred at New Ireland and Somerset in Quebec. The hailstones were as large as hen’s eggs and completely covered the ground. The next day a witness reported a mass of frozen hail 30 cm in diameter. Shattered glass was everywhere. Grain and garden stuffs were completely flattened. Hailstones hit with such a force that they pierced large pumpkins right through 2 sides.

[pandr]

August 12th 1934

Dense fog mixed with smoke from nearby bush fires around Vancouver, BC, reduced visibility to 15 m in the harbour and outside waters. Two marine accidents occurred that morning. A ferry to Vancouver collided with a fishing boat in the First Narrows; the Kickapoo sank in 10 minutes but ferry workers rescued its 3-man crew. In the other accident, a passenger vessel ran aground.

[pandr]

August 15th 1923

One of the worst thunderstorms in years hit Hudbards, NS. A mother and her 2 daughters were at home with 4 friends when lightening struck their house, knocking bric-a-brac off the mantle, tearing wallpaper, and plucking 4 large window panes from their sashes. The winds lifted and splintered the floor, smashed glass in picture frames, and shattered a sideboard, pulling out its drawers. August 15th 1923

[pandr]

August 16th 1909

Two terrific wind and rain storms passed over the Windsor, ON, region, inflicting serious damage. The winds tore off roofs and chimneys, damaged trees, injured several persons with flying debris, and unroofed 3 iron warehouses at the Hiram Walker distillery. The storms had sprung up quickly, catching many sailboats and canoes on the river, and reports of overturned boats were numerous.

[pandr]

August 17th 2007

In Saskatoon, SK, a prolonged rain event over 2 days dropped in excess of 100 mm of rain. The deluge forced countless families to evacuate. Emergency crews pumped flooded basements and submerged intersections. Residents were urged to cut back on water consumption. Water jets shot up 2 m high from manholes.

[pandr]

August 19th 2010

Clouds of smoke from British Columbia forest fires stained the air from Vancouver, BC, to northern Ontario, reducing visibility and sparking province-wide air quality advisories. It was the first time on record that Saskatchewan issued a health advisory because of forest fires in British Columbia. In Calgary, AB, air pollution soared to concentrations not seen in 7 years.

[pandr]

August 21st 2007

Surgeries at a Windsor, ON, hospital resumed after yesterday's record rainfall (56.8 mm). Maintenance was being done on the hospital roof and rainwater seeped into the operating room. Catch basins became clogged with debris and homeowners woke up to water-filled basements and flooded streets.

[pandr]

August 22nd 1923

In some ways, the Antigonish (NS) highland games were the most successful in their 60-year history. Yesterday's rain had left the track "heavy," but today's stiff breeze quickly dried it out. In financial terms, a less-perfect day would have been better. Several days of soggy weather (100 mm in 10 days) had delayed many farmers' haying, so they stayed home to work.

[chopper4757]

Afther this summer drought, the cold weather may be aorund the corner in Michigan ...

[Tdick325]

I just hope for some more rain here in OH. Mowed the lawn 3 times this year. That is one good thing.

[pandr]

August 24th 2005

A powerful storm with strong southerly winds struck Yellowknife, NT. Hanging plants swayed and pots and pans clanged on houseboats in the harbour. The winds combined with a strong current to generate 1-m-high waves. Residents slept on their backs to avoid rolling out of bed, though the boat's motion woke many of them early with a mild case of seasickness.

[pandr]

August 28th 2010

Residents of Charlottetown, PE, were drying out after a major dump of rain from a slow-moving storm. Nearly 95 mm fell on the island capital, closing 9 streets and leaving many yards and basements flooded. Flooding occurred in areas never known to have flooded before. Work crews spent nearly 10 hours clearing debris from storm sewers.

[pandr]

August 29th 1933

A breeze on Lake Winnipeg soon developed into a fierce gale. Rumours had it that the schooner "Breeze" had capsized. Search parties could not locate the wreckage, made more difficult by poor visibility caused by dense smoke clouds from forest fires. Later 2 bodies and the sailboat's wreckage were found near Elk Island.

[pandr]

August 30th 1921

During a thunderstorm near Brockville, ON, lightning entered a residence through a window. A mother and 2 children were in the room. One of the children, an 8-year-old girl, was rendered unconscious. The father, who was in town, proceeded home with an undertaker, only to learn that his child had not sustained so much as a burn, and was suffering only from a headache.

[pandr]

August 31st 2005

Remnants of Katrina dumped up to 100 mm of rain on southern Ontario and Quebec, setting daily records at Ottawa and Montreal. Montreal escaped flooding as rain fell over many hours but wind knocked a tree onto a car. In Kingston, winds uprooted trees, tore down a power line, and damaged homes. Traffic crept through 1-m-deep water. Sidewalks and streets were submerged, swamping cars.

[pandr]

Sept. 1st 2007

: Saskatchewanians headed in droves to lakes and parks for the warm Labour Day weekend. The holiday ended abruptly for campers at Hackett Lake, near Prince Albert, when a plough wind uprooted several trees, dropping them across trailers, and downed a cellular-phone tower. No one was seriously hurt, though. Plough winds move in a straight line, mowing down objects much as a bulldozer would.

[pandr]

Sept 2nd 1915

A cyclone destroyed the Grand Trunk Bridge spanning the Minnewaski River, a few miles from Uno, MB. The wooden trestle was 600 m long and 60 m high. The scheduled Grand Trunk Pacific passenger train passed over the trestle a few minutes before the storm struck the bridge. A short distance behind came a freight train that plunged into the chasm, killing the engineer.

[pandr]

Sept 4th 1882

About 3:00 PM in Ottawa, ON, a thunderbolt set Central School's cupola on fire and 400 panicky pupils ran outside. A bolt also broke the 4th class's window and grazed the teacher's neck, severely burning her to her heels before knocking her "senseless." The "electric fluid" (the name for lightning then) resembled a large fireball. A school inspector who was also hit did not recover quickly.

[pandr]

Sept 5th 1927

Thousands of trout, sunfish, bullheads, and lizards littered the shores of Lost Lake, near Cedar Hill in the Ottawa Valley. Practically all life in the lake had been exterminated. It was thought that during an electrical storm a bolt of lightning struck the lake and killed the fish.

[pandr]

Sept 6th 2009

Poor summer weather caused a shortfall in berries and other foods in the woods of Quebec. Consequently, residents frequently sighted wild animals in their backyards north of Montreal, QC. Hungry bears raided garbage cans, compost bins, and birdfeeders. Officials captured over 30 intruders and returned them to the forest; another dozen had to be killed because they showed aggression.

[pandr]

Sept 7th 1921

Nova Scotia's south coast had been without rain for a long time. Wells were drying up, only a 4-day supply of water remained, and typhoid fever had broken out. At Gold River, timberland fires could not be controlled because the woodland turf burned 1 m down. Fog dampened fires at Brookfield and west Caledonia and made fighting the flames much easier.

[pandr]

Sept 5th 2009

Year-long events celebrating the first powered flight in Canada endured some bad weather from start to finish. The tribute commemorated the first flight of the Silver Dart, which lifted off the ice in Baddeck Bay, NS, a century ago. On February 23, the inaugural flight of the replica Silver Dart had to be cancelled due to a snowstorm.

[pandr]

Oct 3rd 1959

A TCA Viscount airplane hit the mud 500 m short of its Toronto runway just missing a hydro transformer; 40 people escaped a flaming death by less than 1 m. The airplane bounced twice and skittered across Malton Road before smashing into a fence. It might have been caught in a downdraft during a severe thunderstorm. Ironically, the soggy ground likely prevented a major tragedy.

[pandr]

Oct 4th 1990

A freak storm raced across the lower Great Lakes at 100 km/h. Its winds ripped holes in roofs and caused power outages across parts of Metro Toronto, ON, and elsewhere in southern Ontario. Trees with limbs the size of one’s body fell on tops of cars and lay across live wires, starting fires in transformers. Winds in Peterborough, ON, reached 130 km/h, plunging parts of the city into darkness.

[pandr]

Oct 5th 2007

The Thanksgiving weekend in Ontario featured extremely warm air (10° above normal) with sauna-like haze and humidity. With turkeys roasting in many kitchens, outside temperatures soared to unprecedented levels-above 25°C. Toronto reached 31.5°C, with a summertime humidex reading of 39. Hamilton, London, Sarnia, Windsor, Kitchener, Toronto, and Niagara Falls set new 30°+ records

[pandr]

Oct 10th - 2009


Cold Arctic air made for the coldest Thanksgiving weekend on the Prairies in 50 years. Banff, AB, set a record at -21.6°C. Less than 3 weeks after Calgary, AB, shattered a heat record, temperatures plummeted to a record low of -16.3°C. First winter storms of the season often take their toll in car crashes-often 10 times the usual number. Even Canadians can forget how to drive in such conditions.

[pandr]

Oct 11th 1900

Across much of New Brunswick, it had rained steadily for 119 hours, with accumulations topping 250 mm. No trains moved across the province due to numerous washouts and swept-away bridges. Around Saint John, there were at least 25 washouts, some 50 m long and 8 m deep.

[pandr]

Oct 12th 2006

Winds funnelled through downtown Winnipeg, MB, shattering windows on a parkade and closing streets for fear more glass would rain down. Winds at the airport were over 60 km/h, with 80 km/h gusts. Across the city, branches, signs, garbage cans, and recycling boxes were tossed about. Water levels rose 1 m on Lakes Winnipeg, Winnipegosis, and Manitoba, prompting a flood advisory.

[pandr]

1923: Falling hailstones of unusual shapes and sizes did considerable damage in the vicinity of Fredericton, NB. In Waasis, the storm smashed countless windows and levelled crops. Many of the ice pebbles were as big as robins' eggs. Locals found the hailstones perfect for making ice cream.

[pandr]

1975: A freak twister struck a gondola-lift cable car, sending it crashing 30 m to the ground on Alberta�s Sulphur Mountain. Fortunately, the car was unoccupied. The spectacular crash broke 2 of the car�s 5 windows and dented its body. The accident suspended lift operations for an hour and a half, but it did not upset the 6 passengers travelling on other cars when the crash occurred.

[pandr]

2007: In Montreal, QC, 1,000s of Scouts at an international jamboree kept to their tents as 44 mm of rain fell. On the Island of Montreal, about 1,300 homes lost power when lightning took out transformers and falling branches brought down power lines. Some drivers abandoned their cars when water rose above the wheels. Heavy rains also stranded commuters and air and rail travellers.

[pandr]

2007: The worst flooding in decades in Quebec's Gaspé swept away trailer homes, sheds, and 3 bridges. Emergency crews evacuated people in rowboats and Zodiacs but had to swim to rescue some. Residents wore boots or wrapped their feet in plastic. In 12 hours, 80 to 115 mm of rain fell; winds gusted to 93 km/h. A trailer 100 m from the Riviere-au-Renard flooded, carrying away the elderly residents.

[pandr]

1950: Incredulous vacationers rubbed their eyes when they saw patches of �snow� and puddles along Highway 11 near Orillia, ON. Just moments earlier, they had sweltered in 27°C heat and oppressive humidity. �Impossible,� said weather experts. Eyewitnesses countered that it looked like snow and felt like snow. Technically, it was a deposit of tiny hail particles.

[pandr]

1952: The Parliamentary Library, damaged by water from fire hoses a week ago, suffered torrential rains that beat through holes in the roof made by firefighters, soaking an additional 4,000 volumes. Emergency crews of Boy Scouts, YMCA workers, and students from the University of Ottawa worked through the downpour to remove volumes still on the shelves. Public Works lost their battle to keep out the heavy rain.

[pandr]

2004: In New Brunswick, Tropical Storm Bonnie caused flash flooding. Up to 70 mm of rain fell in 24 hours in Madawaska and Restigouche counties. Wind-driven rain hurt a Restigouche River paddler's face and kept a camper from pitching his tent. Edmunston reported flooded cellars and road closures. A Quebec man drowned in a shallow stream when his truck overturned. Cords of wood washed away.

[pandr]

1973: Residents of Sudbury, ON, still living in fear of the "tornado" that killed 5 people 3 years ago, witnessed another severe summer storm passing near the city. Winds blew mightily and uprooted and flattened countless trees in its path. The storm also knocked the weather observer to the ground while he was taking the 11:00 PM observation.

[pandr]

2003: Brilliant blue skies and warm temperatures prevailed over BC's Pacific Coast. Temperatures soared above 30°C at a number of coastal and inland communities. In the Interior, vintners delighted over the 4 months of almost unbroken sunshine, warmth, and occasionally cool nights. One vintner predicted a 25% increase over last year's record grape harvest.

[pandr]

2005: In Stephenville, NL, hundreds fled their homes after over 150 mm of rain breached 2 rivers and the downtown flooded. A state of emergency was declared when water washed out roads and swamped bridges. About 80 homes had water to first-floor windows. In a door-to-door evacuation, some people were rescued with a front-end loader and zodiac. Some could not return home for several weeks.

[pandr]

2005: In late July, Alberta and Saskatchewan growers had high hopes for the biggest harvest ever. But at harvest time, rain and cold ruined any chance of a banner year. In Manitoba, rain had kept many growers from even seeding. Although spring wheat production exceeded the 5-year average, crop quality fell to "feed grade." Only 43% of the wheat crop ranked Grades 1 and 2; the average is 70%.

[pandr]

2007: Heavy rain on Cape Breton Island (NS) swamped roads, washing away gravel shoulders, crumbling asphalt, and causing soil to sag. At Sydney Airport, monthly rainfall was 185 mm (113 mm is normal), with 36-, 28-, 26-, and 75-mm daily amounts. A Christmas Island to Big Beach section of road caved in and nearby train tracks vanished. Near Georges River, a football-field length of road flooded.

[pandr]

1910: A severe 15-min. cyclone struck Montreal, QC. Winds blew at hurricane force, while rain and lightning stopped all activity including transportation. The storm killed 2 men when winds demolished the scaffolding they were on. On the wharf, winds took down 2 towers and unroofed or demolished buildings everywhere, felled shade trees, and pushed over several large electric signs.

[pandr]

1872: The fiercest storm ever recalled occurred on Lake Winnipeg (MN). Water fell 4 m at the lake's north end and rose 4 m at its south end, inundating 20 km inland up to a depth of 3.5 m and drowning 10 or 15 people. An Aboriginal lost his wife and 10 children; he barely escaped by climbing a tree. Hunters camped 10 m above the water survived, but no trace was found of those camped in low land.

[pandr]

1923: Torrential rains and record floods swamped Truro, NS, and nearby villages, resulting in the destruction of bridges, flooded cellars, downed trees, and disrupted traffic. Winds felled the flagpole at the post office, breaking it below ground level. Sheaves of grain and drowned pigs floated down the swollen Salmon River. The enlarged creek took out a barn from which a horse disappeared forever.

[pandr]

2004: The fall weather was so good that it helped many in the East forget what a rotten summer it had been. In Kitchener, this day was the warmest ever at 25°C-some 11° above normal. Following a cool, wet summer, perfect fall weather produced a strong crop of leaves, and the colours seemed more vibrant than ever. Owners of small resorts and bed and breakfasts around Ontario were delighted.

[pandr]

Lets see who reads? lol

2008: Weather Quiz

Who was the first European to see a hurricane?
1.Jacques Cartier
2.Christopher Columbus
3.Henry VIII
4.******** da Vinci
5.Samuel de Champlain

Answer to follow.

[bkr™]

1494 During his second voyage, Christopher Columbus shelters his fleet from a tropical cyclone. This is the first written European account of a hurricane.
1502 During his fourth voyage Columbus warns the governor of Santo Domingo of an approaching hurricane, but is ignored. A Spanish treasure fleet sets sail and loses 20 ships with 500 men.

[peeterjozaf]

Dec 3, 2013

Today is cold weather but sun is shining but early morning weather is cold.