From the polar vortex to the historic snowfall in Buffalo, there hasn’t been a shortage of crazy winter weather this year. We rounded up the wildest moments caught on video that will make you want to put on an extra sweater.
POLAR VORTEX
Last winter’s polar vortex brought temperatures so low that the atmosphere literally turned water into ice in an instant.
Several videos of people tossing boiling water into the air began to appear on social media.
Unfortunately, some poor souls were injured in the process.
The polar vortex didn’t just yield interesting YouTube videos. It also created a lot of hazardous roads for drivers.
Highway 401 by Napanee, Ontario became a vehicle graveyard in late January when 75 cars and trucks piled up in one big heap covering three kilometres.
Nine people were transported to hospital and three were treated for serious injuries.
ODD TIMING
Calgary is known for its dry summers and relatively mild winters, but the western city was slammed with an early snowfall this year for three consecutive days in September.
The snow caught Albertans by surprise and many were pleading, “Too soon!”
Much of the city’s treetop was damaged by the early snow and more than 10,000 tonnes of trees had to be mulched and discarded.
As if the summer wasn’t short enough, the east coast was hit with a springtime blizzard so hard that residents in Halifax resorted to skiing through the streets.
Up to 40-50 centimetres of snow fell on parts of Nova Scotia and PEI, while gusts of up to 100 kilometres per hour caused whiteout conditions throughout the Atlantic.
We admit, when we said “odd timing” we meant in a larger meteorological sense – but you can’t deny this incident qualifies as some pretty “odd timing” of its own.
Serbian Energy Minister Aleksandar Antic was hit on the head by a falling icicle earlier this month while giving a statement to media during a visit near the town of Majdanpek, Serbia.
Luckily, the hard hat-wearing minister survived his brush with the falling icy projectile with nothing more than a minor headache.
TOO MUCH, TOO FAST
Named “Winter Storm Knife” after the way it cut through upstate New York, the historic snowfall in Buffalo was so bad the National Guard was called in to help clean up the 220,000 tonnes of snow.
Some areas were reported to be buried under almost 2.5 metres of snow.
Up to 13 deaths attributed to the snow were reported, and around 30 roofs collapsed as a result of the heavy snow.
The incredible drone video above captured the extent of the record snowfall – and of the community buried beneath it.
And this timelapse video (see below) shows the incredible power of the storm which captured headlines around the world.
“Hotlanta” got a chill this February when an ice storm encased the entire city in a thick sheet of ice.
Freezing rain and snow made for a deadly combination as several deaths in the area were blamed on the nasty weather.
A massive snow squall blew through the city of Toronto at the beginning of the year, drowning out the sunlight and covering the city in a blanket of winter weather in a matter of hours.
Thanks to some quick video magic, you can watch that entire process unfold in a matter of moments.
Global cameras captured this timelapse footage of the massive storm front bringing this “early dusk” to the city.
GETTING IN THE SPIRIT
It’s a tradition that goes back over 100 years, but it’s been given new life thanks to the power of social media
Hundreds of students at McGill University in Montreal took part in a massive snowball fight earlier this month. Students from other schools took part in this year’s snowy brouhaha as well, assuming they found the courage to brave Montreal’s snowy streets and McGill’s battle-hardened student body.
And speaking of snowball fights, hundreds of people descended on Edmonton’s Kinsmen Park earlier this month for a good old fashioned snowball showdown.
The massive flash mob-style snow battle was the brain child of Mazumder and Jeff Chase. The men were strangers before coming up with the idea through a conversation on Twitter.
Of course, not content to simply observe the battle, our intrepid Global News cameraman donned a GoPro – and joined in the fun!
Well getting hammered by the spray of a passing snowplow may not count as “getting in the spirit”, the cheerful reaction of the reporter to whom it happens just might.
Earlier this year, local Philadelphia reporter Steve Keeley was reporting on the weather and on driving conditions in the city when he got blasted by a passing snowplow – all on live TV.
Well it was far from a pleasant seeming experience, it may have been an effective metaphor for what many of Keeley’s viewers experienced when they stepped out their front doors that morning.
Here’s one Newfoundland resident getting opening his door to a winter wonderland and jumping right in – literally.
A video of a Newfoundland man trying to climb over a massive snow pile right outside his door – and getting stuck – was a viral smash earlier this
year.
The man is yelling at his mother in the video while he attempts to free himself, and his mother keeps repeating “Jumpin’ Jesus!”
– with files from Elton Hobson
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