Calgary’s monster hailstorm in August cracked Environment Canada’s list of the top ten weather stories for 2012, released today.
The Aug. 12 storm, which lasted just ten minutes but slammed Calgary with golf-ball-size hail, was followed by another storm two days later that brought wind gusts of up to 100 km/h, as well as more rain and hail.
Insurers estimated the combined damage claims of the two storms totalled about $200 million.
The top weather story is determined based on its longevity as a news story as well as its impact, economic effects and the scope of the area affected.
This year, “the big heat” topped the list.
Environment Canada reported that from January to November, this year was the fourth warmest since nationwide record keeping began in 1948.
The report called the 2012 winter in Calgary “the winter that wouldn’t start,” and Yellowknife’s air temperature never dipped below -40 degrees Celsius.
Here’s the full list of Environment Canada’s top weather stories for 2012:
1. “The Big Heat”
Record temperatures across Canada made the winters mild and the summers scorching.
2. “Super Storm Sandy and Another Active Hurricane Season”
- Calgary fatal stabbing victim ‘gave himself’ to help those fleeing war in Ukraine
- Innovative nursing education: Mannequins lead the way in Alberta
- Calgary police looking for suspect in March southeast hotel homicide
- Alberta introduces legislation to reduce high power-bill fee surcharge for Calgarians
There were 19 named storms in 2012’s Atlantic hurricane season. By the Sandy reached Canadian storms, it was more of a “nasty fall storm,” but still caused over $100 million in insurance losses.
3. “B. C. Flooding … Larger, Longer and Lethal”
A massive landslide in Johnson’s Landing, washed-out roads and flash floods were just a few of the effects of B.C.’s wet spring and summer.
4. “March’s meteorological madness”
Abnormally warm temperatures were recorded across Ontario and the Atlantic provinces in March.
Lake Major, Nova Scotia, recorded the highest temperature across the country that month at 30 degrees Celsius on March 22.
5. “Summer on the Prairies … Warm, Wet and Wild”
Calgary surpassed its June monthly average of 80mm of rain, recording 133mm that month, Edmonton was dealt 26 hours worth of thunderstorms in July. Saskatchewan reported 33 tornado touchdowns, up from an average of 13.
6. “The Big Melt”
The extent of sea ice covering the Arctic Ocean dropped 18 per cent below the previous record low in 2007, according to the United States National Snow and Ice Data Center. Sea ice covered just 3.41 million square kilometres on Sept. 16.
7. “High and Dry in the East”
Winter and spring were the mildest and driest on record in southern Ontario and Quebec. Rivers and lakes across the two provinces reached record low levels, and hot and dry temperatures also extended into the Atlantic provinces.
8. “The Year of the Urban Flood”
Thunder Bay, Montreal, and Toronto and Steinbach, Man., all suffered from urban flooding in 2012.
9. “Hail to Calgary … Again”
Much like the 2010 hailstorm that cause $400 million in damages, the Aug. 12 and 14 hailstorms again wreaked havoc on parts of the city, amassing about $200 million in damage claims.
10. “Historic Ice-jam flooding on the Saint John River”
Five hundred residents of Perth-Andover and Tobique First Nation were evacuated in early spring when the Saint John River spilled over its banks, bringing with it truck-sized chunks of ice.
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
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