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Posted
  • Location: Canmore, AB 4296ft|North Kent 350ft|Killearn 330ft
  • Location: Canmore, AB 4296ft|North Kent 350ft|Killearn 330ft

Canada's Top Ten Weather Stories of 2000

1. First Deadly Tornado in 13 Years Strikes Alberta

Around supper-time on Friday, July 14, in an area of Canada known for its severe summer weather, a powerful tornado spinning winds of 330 km/h slammed into the Green Acres campground about 60 km southeast of Red Deer, Alberta. For the 1,100 inhabitants in the campground, it was over in just one minute. In all, 12 people died and 140 were injured. Damage estimates were around $13 million. The Pine Lake tornado was the deadliest tornado in North America in 2000, but the first killer twister in Canada in 13 years. The last one, also in Alberta, in a trailer park, and on Friday, killed 27 people in Edmonton. The Pine Lake tornado was the fifth deadliest in Canadian history - three of which have occurred in the past 16 years.

The tornado's explosive force was both awesome and freakish. Twisting winds tossed 40 or 50 trailers into Pine Lake, yet miraculously nobody drowned. Some boats were blown right across the lake, while others were wrapped around trees. The twister bared trees and yanked others from the ground. Appliances, couches, and beds were found in the lake. On the bizarre side, the twister sucked fish from the lake and spewed them over the beach and campground. Golf balls were lodged in tree trunks, and axes were embedded in trailer walls. Yet, in the midst of the destruction, there were dinner settings left with not a plate or utensil out of place.

Throughout the summer, weather forecasters in the Prairies were extremely busy with a total of 685 severe weather events, including 91 tornadoes (the normal number is 43), 310 hailers, 130 funnel clouds, 96 heavy rain episodes and 58 damaging wind events.

2. "Bummer of A Summer" Across Canada

For most Canadians, the millennium's first summer was not much. Hard to believe, but nationally the average summer temperature was about 0.2°C warmer than normal. Apparently, how Nunavut goes, so goes Canada! Summer plainly forgot the residents of the Great Lakes /St. Lawrence where the most unseasonable temperatures in the country occurred, about 0.5°C cooler than normal.

The real story wasn't that it was so cold, rather it wasn't very hot! Torrid days with maximum temperatures above 30°C generally numbered one or two, none in Hamilton and London - not the typical 10 to 12, or the sweltering 25 to 30 which occurred the summer before. And the lack of sunshine gave the impression of much cooler temperatures.

In central Canada, it was also one of the wettest beginnings to summer on record. Nationally, it was the third wettest summer on record in 53 years - some 13% more precipitation than normal. In Ontario, there was no day in June when rain didn't fall somewhere in the province. On average, every location had about 19 days with measurable rainfall, although a few had as many as 25 - normal is 10 to 13 days. Weekends, especially long ones, were particularly nasty and this helped to magnify the wetness. In Montreal, between June 1 and October 31, it rained sometime during 19 out of 22 weekends, including every long weekend.

In coastal British Columbia, May to July was especially dank and damp. Victoria set a new record for the least amount of sunshine in May. Not to be outdone, Vancouver had 100 mm in excess of its May-to-July rainfall norm and its second wettest July on record. In Edmonton, July rain totals were slightly below normal, yet the city had 21 wet days, when normal is 13. Calgary boasted the second sunniest July on record and a June when everyday had some sunshine, yet there were 20 wet days and the month's total rainfall was 43% more than normal. London had its wettest summer ever, records date back 60 years, and Toronto set a new record for the wettest May-June ever, with records dating back to 1840.

There wasn't a region of Canada that didn't find fault with the summer. The season was a delight for mosquitoes; they lived longer too! The soggy, cool and cloudy weather wreaked havoc on the recreation and retail sectors. Business at marinas in the Great Lakes was down 25%, and park visitations in Quebec were off as much as 20%.

The weather may have been lousy for farmers and holidayers, but it was good for those with breathing difficulties. The rain and cloud and cooler temperatures meant air was fresher and cleaner than in the past with fewer smog alerts.

3. Rain Gushers Flood Ontario and Manitoba

The summer featured fewer severe weather events in Ontario - 96 compared to the 150+ events in recent years. However, twisters and hailers gave way to an unprecedented number of heavy rainfall events, sometimes known as gully washers, accounting for more than a quarter of the severe weather episodes. Day-long torrential rains lashed parts of Ontario on numerous occasions - washing out roads, filling underpasses, cutting power and flooding basements to the rafters. Unlucky residents from Windsor to Woodstock had to rid their homes of raw backed-up sewage not once, but twice and three times. On July 9, upwards of 150 mm of rain soaked the Stratford-Exeter-Woodstock area. Officials organized special garbage collections to handle the tonnes of water-logged belongings worth millions of dollars.

Heavy rainfalls might have had an effect on water quality. Local and provincial authorities tending to the Walkerton E. coli outbreak in the local water supply have suggested that heavy rains flushing cattle manure into the town's water supply might have been a factor.

A drenching rainstorm struck Muskoka on July 31 dumping rain in excess of 150 mm over four to five hours. Even greater amounts were unofficially recorded in Bracebridge - some 275 mm - more rain than Hurricane Hazel yielded in 1954.

Southern Manitoba also had a few gully washers. The biggest deluge occurred on July 7, when a torrential downpour dumped a month's worth of rain, between 75 and 110 mm, in just a few hours. The flooding affected forty-four municipalities. Thousands of Winnipeg residents had to bail out flooded basements and rescue submerged cars when sewers could not keep pace with the rainfall intensity. The water level in the Red River gushed three metres above normal - a record for the summer. Disaster assistance claims from homeowners far exceeded the $9 million in relief moneys the government had set aside following the storm.

4. January Storm Surge Wallops Atlantic Canada

Maritimers called it another "storm of the century". One of the wildest winter storms in years slammed into Atlantic Canada on January 21. In little more than a day, the explosive, weather "beast" raced from the American Carolinas towards Nova Scotia. Forecasters warned the public against a litany of weather misery - blizzards, heavy snow, intense rains, hurricane-force winds, storm surges and coastal flooding.

The blizzard, the second in five days, dumped up to 54 cm of snow in parts of Nova Scotia and PEI. But it was water - not the white stuff - that caused most problems. In Charlottetown, fierce winds and the highest tides of the season caused harbour water to surge ashore, prompting frenzied city workers to build snow banks to contain the rising sea water. The surging wall of water affected virtually the entire coastal area of the province, collapsing wharves, flooding homes and businesses, and moving cottages. In one bizarre incident, two cottages at Tatamagouche Bay, Nova Scotia, were lifted, turned around, and deposited hundreds of metres down the beach without even knocking over bottles.

The storm also brought the largest wave to strike Newfoundland since the 1929 tsunami in the Burin Peninsula that killed 27 people. The freak rogue wave was 15 to 18 metres high and moved at a speed of 90 to 110 km/h. The powerful winds rocked buildings back and forth. No lives were lost, but the storm caused several millions of dollars in damages across Atlantic Canada.

5. Great Lakes Levels - How Low Will They Go?

Three months of "monsoonal " wet in the Great Lakes Basin was not going to undo three years of warm-weather drought. All the lakes except Lake Ontario are rapidly shrinking. The water levels have fallen further and faster than almost any time in the 20th Century.

The heavy rainfall in spring and early summer caused a temporary pause in the decline of levels on Superior and Michigan-Huron, water levels on the upper lakes continued to decline in 2000. Lakes Michigan-Huron were one metre lower than three years ago and the lowest since 1964. Superior was at its lowest level since 1925. Lakes Erie and Ontario experienced a reprieve in their declines; however, scanty rains in the fall dropped year-end levels close to their low marks of a year ago. There is more reason for concern about the potential for low levels continuing in 2001 than there was a year ago.

Depressed water levels were a hardship for recreational boaters. Several marinas undertook dredging to accommodate their clientele, while many owners of private docks were left high and dry. Commercial navigation also found this year to be a challenge, necessitating reduced loads to avoid running aground. Hydroelectric generation at Niagara Falls during the first half of 2000 was significantly reduced from the previous year, and the same was true at Sault Ste. Marie during the last half of 2000.

6. More Weather Woes Down On The Farm

Once again, Canadian farmers had a tough year. Another mild winter failed to kill off bothersome diseases and insects. And going into the growing season, most farmers were concerned by the lack of winter precipitation in recharging soil moisture and other water reserves. Then, a spring "monsoon" especially in central Canada, soaked the land and washed away seeds and plants, and generally delayed the growing season by two or three weeks. The wet conditions also created an ideal breeding ground for insects and diseases like stem rot and blight. Virtually every major crop was affected by some type of virus, bacteria or fungi. Farmers everywhere became desperate for sunshine and growing heat units. In southern Quebec, sunshine between May and August totalled 1,000 hours, compared to the normal of 1,173. Then came the threat of frost and untimely harvest rains. Across the Maritimes and in southern Manitoba, wet conditions in September and October prevented farmers from completing the harvest on time.

The excessive moisture and disease not only reduced yields, but they also reduced the quality of most of the crop. With yields down by 20 to 30%, twice the number of Quebec farmers made insurance claims for crop losses in 2000 compared to last year. Grain corn producers in Ontario and Quebec had a disappointing year despite a record planted acreage. Production was 15% less than last year. Some farmers gave up planting and returned their seed; some growers resorted to chopping up hay and blowing it back on the field because it was worth more as fertilizer than feed.

Ranchers and farmers in southern Alberta faced some of the driest weather in memory. At Lethbridge, ranchers are used to over 200 mm of rain between May and August. This year a meager 68 mm fell at that time. For old-time residents, it was the worst drought since 1918 - even the 1930s weren't as dry as it was in 2000.

There was some good news. Statistics Canada reported that Canadian farmers produced a record amount of field peas and near-record amounts of durum wheat.

7. Flash Flood Drowns Saskatchewan Town

There is a certain irony about one of the driest places getting the greatest rainfall, and yet that is exactly what happened at usually rain-sparse Vanguard, Saskatchewan on July 3 when a carwash-like downpour flooded the community of 200 people, some 65 km southeast of Swift Current. As much as 375 mm of rain fell in eight hours, the greatest storm for that duration on the Canadian Prairies and one of the largest rainfall intensities ever recorded in Canada.

The spectacular thunderstorm produced more cloud-to-ground lightning strikes than that part of southern Saskatchewan would expect in two years. A year's amount of rain left crops in the field drowning and rotting, and roads and rail-lines under water. The force of the water crushed cars and farm implements, swept away grain bins and soaked large bales. Stranded residents had to be rescued by boat, which rapidly became the carrier of choice on the main street in Vanguard. The flash flood also carried away herds of cattle and drowned dozens of deer and antelope. Some further irony, when millions of litres of contaminated water submerged the water-treatment plant and backed up into homes and businesses, officials had to ship in bottled water from Swift Current.

8. Hurricane Michael and November Gloom

Forecasters predicted another active hurricane season in the North Atlantic Ocean. In the end, there were 14 named storms; eight of them became hurricanes; and three of those were major. The year continued what has become the most active six consecutive years of tropical storms in a century. The most significant hurricane for Canada was Hurricane Michael which tore into southern Newfoundland late on October 19. It was only the second full-fledged hurricane to make landfall in Canada in 25 years, the last one being Hortense in 1996. Michael packed very strong winds with gusts to 172 km/h at St. Lawrence, Newfoundland. Surprisingly, there were few reports of damage apart from rattled windows and ripped siding. The high-speed motion of the weather system kept rainfall totals below 50 mm.

A storm just before Halloween heralded the beginning of the longest spell of dreary weather and sunless skies that residents of Atlantic Canada could ever remember. St. John's, Charlottetown, Sydney and Greenwood all set records for continuously overcast skies, between 400 and 500 hours, after a low pressure system anchored south of Nova Scotia refused to budge. On Cape Breton Island, the gloomy skies weren't the only problem for a weather-fatigued populace. With 19 straight days of what seemed an eternal rain, totalling nearly 400 mm and over a span that included several daily rainfall records, waterlogged residents faced flooded basements, sewer back-ups, washed-out roads, sinkholes, and stalled engines. Damage caused by the flood exceeded $3 million. The stalled system was not unusual, just the length of the spell. But what made the situation doubly depressing was that it robbed Maritimers of arguably the best time of the year - their glorious fall.

9. First Winter of the Millennium - Soft and Short

The winter was mild across Canada - the fourth in a row and the fourth warmest in over half a century. The most striking thing about winter was its short duration - only five weeks not five months. For most, it was perfectly packaged from mid-January to late February. In Vancouver, there was not a day when the temperature failed to rise above freezing. Never has there been a warmer February temperature in Ontario than the 20.4°C in Windsor on the 26th. It was warmer in Ottawa than in Reno and Jerusalem. The next day Montreal's 11°C shattered all previous records in the city and Sherbrooke's 15°C set a province-wide record for February. Mild temperatures saved businesses and homeowners millions of dollars they didn't have to spend on heating fuel, with customers paying about 10% less than expected.

There was less snow too! Most cities in southern Canada had about 80% of their normal winter accumulation. For Edmonton, it was the sunniest winter ever in 81 years and no day had snowfall more than a measly 5 cm. Victoria and Vancouver had only four days with a measurable snowfall and a seasonal accumulation of less than 1/3 of their normal snowfall. In Ontario, only one major winter storm occurred - a slow-moving Valentine's Day storm blanketed the southern part of the province with 20 cm of snow. Treacherous roads created gridlock from Hamilton to Ottawa, but couldn't stop a massive outdoor wedding ceremony in Niagara Falls when 200 couples renewed their vows for the new millennium.

For cross-country skiers and snowmobilers, it was hard to imagine a worse winter. There was no spring skiing. Most lake ice was less than 12 cm thick - the minimum thickness recommended for snowmobile travel. Snow carnivals had to make or import snow. As expected, the unseasonable weather played havoc with retail sales, but golf courses across southern Canada had their earliest opening ever.

10. Early Start to Winter 2000-2001

Across Canada, the first tastes of winter occurred three weeks before the official start of the season. On December 1, an early winter storm swept across eastern Newfoundland. St. John's got close to 56 cm, along with 90 km/h winds. Thousands of customers were left without power. During the first week of December, a "polar pig" or Arctic outbreak squealed into western and central Canada bringing Alberta its coldest temperatures in about three years. The deepest freeze occurred in the Northwest Territories, where Fort Simpson recorded a low of -43°C. In Northern Manitoba, the bitter cold combined with strong winds to produce a ferocious blizzard and wind chills below -70°C. With the sudden onslaught of winter, residents, who were already paying up to 60% more for natural gas and heating oil than last year, cranked up their thermostats, consuming 50% more energy than the same time last year.

A mammoth storm struck Ontario and Quebec on December 11-12, dumping between 20 and 50 cm of snow. Two days later, a second storm left residents digging out from knee-deep drifts. The weather didn't bring the troops to Toronto, but it did cause traffic gridlock and the greatest number of flight cancellations in almost two years. It was an evening rush-hour mess in the Greater Toronto Area and similar road havoc the next morning in Ottawa and Montreal. Three-quarters of the flights into and out of the three cities were cancelled. Schools, shops and services closed from Windsor to Quebec City. In Sarnia the week's heavy snow of between 50 to 60 cm with monstrous drifts caused the roof of a store to collapse, killing an employee. The storm continued eastward bringing deep snows to northern New Brunswick and heavy rains and strong winds to the rest of the Maritimes. Power outages throughout the region were common, and traffic was halted on the Confederation Bridge between New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. By the end of the week, winter's clutches had reached British Columbia. Up to 15 cm of snow blanketed some Vancouver suburbs and gale-force winds knocked down power lines in the Lower Mainland and on southern Vancouver Island, cutting power to 100,000 customers. The storm then turned into a fierce blizzard as it swept eastward across the Prairies.

All this and the first day of winter was still a week away.

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Posted
  • Location: Eastbourne, East Sussex (work in Mid Sussex)
  • Location: Eastbourne, East Sussex (work in Mid Sussex)

Saskatchewan:

A late-season blast of wintry weather around Saskatoon and other areas was causing accidents and making travel dangerous Tuesday.

Posted Image

The City of Saskatoon said the snow may cause public transit delays, including shuttles to the Brier curling tournament. Garbage collection was also postponed by the city. MD Ambulance said the same morning there was a roll-over near Martensville that may have been storm related. Environment Canada said the storm system will continue to bring snow but should move out of the area by the end of the day.

Highways in the area were bad all day and officials were recommending people stay home. Al Drehere, the fire chief in Delisle, Sask., told CBC News Tuesday that there was a build-up of snow on roads in the area and icy patches underneath the snow. The dangerous conditions forced many drivers into town, and Drehere opened the fire hall to stranded travellers. "When I got to Delisle, the visibility was so bad I couldn't even see where I was going and I ended up in the ditch," Harriet Kern, one of the thankful motorists who found refuge in Delisle, said. "Somebody pulled out my car and they suggested I come to the fire station."

http://www.cbc.ca/ne...storm-1203.html

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Posted
  • Location: St Johns, Newfoundland
  • Location: St Johns, Newfoundland

9am and snow just about tapered off now though still pretty windy, totals right at the lower end of estimates think just touching 20cm here, certainly not the 30-40cm the weather network thought yesterday evening and Environment Canada were going with 30cm in total I know is hard predicting snowfall amounts but all winter they either under or over estimate it by quite a bit.. Was keeping an eye on the radar up till about midnight last night and it never really got going here till past midnight when initially we were forecast 5-10cm in 3 or 4 hours before midnight, the system was over us it just wasn't filling in early on.

Edited by glosteroldboy
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Posted
  • Location: Canmore, AB 4296ft|North Kent 350ft|Killearn 330ft
  • Location: Canmore, AB 4296ft|North Kent 350ft|Killearn 330ft

^ I always go the opposite of the Environ Canada warning lol. Everytime they issue a snowfall warning more than 24 hours out it doesnt happen here. Whenever the dont issue it they end up scrambling at the end and we get more than they forecast.

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Posted
  • Location: St Johns, Newfoundland
  • Location: St Johns, Newfoundland

^ I always go the opposite of the Environ Canada warning lol. Everytime they issue a snowfall warning more than 24 hours out it doesnt happen here. Whenever the dont issue it they end up scrambling at the end and we get more than they forecast.

So true!, back end of Jan/early Feb when we had those 4 storms in a week I think the first 3 they were forecasting around 10cm for each and we ended up with something like 26cm, 21cm and 18cm! They are saying over 20cm fallen now so maybe not too far out, the weather network were saying 20-30cm the past couple of days so would of been spot on had they not gone for 30-40cm at the last minute, they must of thought it looked stronger on the radar? It did take a long time to really fill in over North East Avalon.

I've learnt in my first winter here with these blizzard type storms the snow only accumulates in deeper drifts in sheltered spots and depends on wind/location ,the side of our house/drive was waist deep in places yet next door neighbour had next to no snow on his drive.

Edit: 25cm they're saying is the final total at the manned observation site at the airport, I say they (and Roger) called this one right.

Edited by glosteroldboy
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Posted
  • Location: Canmore, AB 4296ft|North Kent 350ft|Killearn 330ft
  • Location: Canmore, AB 4296ft|North Kent 350ft|Killearn 330ft

Absolutely true about the blizzards - as soon as I hear them talking of winds over 50km'h I know we wont have any snow outside our house and even though 30cm's may have fallen it really only looks like a dusting in most places as it just gets blown elsewhere...some poor guy down the road will have 15 feet in front of his door.

When its a calm heavy snowfall thats when the accumulations are really visible. I love nothing more than an upsloping snows here, calm winds most of the time and quite often could be 24 hours of continual snowfall. Now thats impressive when that happens

May 8, 2008 we had 30 hours of continual snow from uploping and ended up with 67 cm's downtown and close to 80cm's in the higher communities. It was very localised to us here and therefore very little is talked about it in the general weather news

Here are some pics from that snowstorm - we still has about another 10 hours of snow after the pics were taken

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post-4391-0-87342800-1331135638_thumb.jp

post-4391-0-51315600-1331135682_thumb.jp

post-4391-0-91707600-1331135738_thumb.jp

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Posted
  • Location: St Johns, Newfoundland
  • Location: St Johns, Newfoundland

Absolutely true about the blizzards - as soon as I hear them talking of winds over 50km'h I know we wont have any snow outside our house and even though 30cm's may have fallen it really only looks like a dusting in most places as it just gets blown elsewhere...some poor guy down the road will have 15 feet in front of his door.

When its a calm heavy snowfall thats when the accumulations are really visible. I love nothing more than an upsloping snows here, calm winds most of the time and quite often could be 24 hours of continual snowfall. Now thats impressive when that happens

May 8, 2008 we had 30 hours of continual snow from uploping and ended up with 67 cm's downtown and close to 80cm's in the higher communities. It was very localised to us here and therefore very little is talked about it in the general weather news

Here are some pics from that snowstorm - we still has about another 10 hours of snow after the pics were taken

Nice pics, certainly the most picturesque type of snowfall more what am used to back in England (on the rare occasions it does snow not deep just an even blanket on everything). Most snow here tends to come with high winds, more so being right on the coast. Beautiful sunny day now but cold, short lived though with 2 milder days coming up tomorrow 5 or 6 degrees.

Edited by glosteroldboy
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Posted
  • Location: St Johns, Newfoundland
  • Location: St Johns, Newfoundland

10 degrees here now, big turnaround from Wednesdays blizzard that snow didn't last long! Very windy out though making it not quite as pleasant as it could be, warning of 110kmh gusts this afternoon.

Then another cold snap beginning tonight below freezing till the middle of next week, little more snow on the way tomorrow.

The up and down weather quite normal for March I guess.

Edit: Looks like the peak temperature was around 13 degrees, some 5 degrees higher than they were forecasting, pretty warm for early March considering the average high is around 1 degrees.

Edited by glosteroldboy
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Posted
  • Location: Canmore, AB 4296ft|North Kent 350ft|Killearn 330ft
  • Location: Canmore, AB 4296ft|North Kent 350ft|Killearn 330ft

Same here - after a foot of snow or so its all but gone with temps around 12oC and sunny - very spring like. No coldor snowy weather in the immedaite forecast, unlike you guys. Enjoy as we move through March and put the clocks forward this weeken ;-) It will be getting dark at 8pm here now after Sunday

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Posted
  • Location: Eastbourne, East Sussex (work in Mid Sussex)
  • Location: Eastbourne, East Sussex (work in Mid Sussex)

Storm wrecks boats, topples trees onto houses on Vancouver Island

Winds of up to 80 kilometres an hour caused power outages, cancelled ferries, grounded flights and halted traffic as trees fell across roadways in Greater Victoria. B.C. Ferries cancelled sailings on 15 routes, including those between Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay. “The three major routes between Vancouver Island and the mainland have not sailed at all today,†Ferries spokeswoman Deborah Marshall said about 10 a.m. Monday. She said the 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. round trips for those routes were cancelled, making 3 p.m. sailings the earliest possible for trips to or from the Island. “The wind storm is predicted to actually pick up before it goes down,†Marshall said. “Unfortunately, it’s going to persevere for a while. We’ll keep posting information on our website.â€

B.C. Hydro spokesman Ted Olynyk said the agency’s internal communications referred to Monday’s conditions as a “weather bomb,†a description borne out by the more than 94,000 customers without power on Vancouver Island around mid-morning. Strong winds buffeting the shoreline caused problems at some marinas, and had a definite impact in Sidney’s Tsehum Harbour.

Tsehum Harbour Authority manager Janet Rooke said three boats that had been anchored out in the harbour had been swept onto the rocks, along with a float. She said that the harbour’s Marina Park Marina had two docks that had come loose, leading to a tangle of boats. Olynyk said the east coast of the Island, in particular, has been affected by loss of power. “The Courtenay area was hit quite hard, they’re at over 26,000 customers.†Campbell River has more than 18,000 homes without power, the Nanaimo area has 7,000 and Victoria has 21,000.

The total number of people without power on the south Island is about 35,000. Major outages include 1,400 homes without power in Central Saanich and North Saanich, 1,875 in Metchosin, Langford, Colwood and Sooke, more than 5,000 homes in Duncan and North Cowichan. Hydro crews are out in force, Olynyk said. “We’ve got all hands on deck right now. Some areas, like the Gulf Islands, we’re not going to be able to attend to. One of the reasons is because the ferries have been cancelled to the outlying areas.â€

Another reason is that most of the smaller islands are fed from Vancouver Island, so the more central lines have to be dealt with first. Environment Canada issued a wind warning for Monday calling for southeast winds of 70-100 kilometres an hour across Vancouver Island. Winds are expected to die down this afternoon. The Saanich school district closed several schools due to power outages, including Cordova Bay, Keating, Kelset and Deep Cove elementaries, Parkland Secondary and the Children’s Development Centre on Cordova Bay Road. Glenlyon-Norfolk also cancelled senior and middle-school classes.

Victoria police responded to a sailboat adrift in the Selkirk waterway near the Gorge Road hospital around 8 a.m. Staff Sgt. Tom Sawyer said he doesn’t believe any people were on board. The Victoria Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre was busy responding to several reports of moored boats crashing together in marinas, including in Ganges Harbour on Saltspring Island. A person on a boat off Mill Bay needed assistance getting to shore. Strong waves sent boats crashing into the rocks off Tsehum Harbour at Curteis Point in Sidney. The centre also said the Coast Guard's environmental-response unit is monitoring a large boat called the Dominion in Cowichan Bay, which could be at risk of a fuel spill. Victoria police responded to a collision between a sport-utility vehicle and a B.C. Transit bus at Hillside Avenue and Blanshard around 7:30 p.m. One person was taken to Royal Jubilee Hospital with injuries.

Around 8:30 a.m., Saanich police and fire responded to a tree down across the road on Arbutus Road near Telegraph Bay Road. There was also a tree blocking traffic in Mount Douglas Park. Saanich police spokesman Sgt. Dean Jantzen said firefighters and police were busy responding to dozens of reports of trees down on roads or across power lines.

At least three homeowners had trees fall onto their homes on Tattersall Drive, Deerwood Terrace and Richmond Road. The wind ripped the sides off a balcony on the third storey of an apartment building at 547 Niagara St. On up-Island roads, Highway 19 between Parksville and Campbell River was closed in both directions because of trees across the road, while Highway 28 west of Campbell River was also closed in both directions due to downed hydro wires. Mount Washington Road to the junction of Highway 19 was also closed during the morning due to a massive dump of snow and whiteout conditions

The strong winds forced Harbour Air to cancel several flights between the Lower Island and the Lower Mainland. Some flights were delayed at the Victoria International Airport but there was only one flight cancellation. The Coho ferry did not cancel any sailings this morning.

http://www.canada.co...9433/story.html

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Posted
  • Location: St Johns, Newfoundland
  • Location: St Johns, Newfoundland

80kmh...sounds like a regular day here lol. Well not quite but how come it did so much damage to the power grid, is it not build to cope with a bit of wind? We only had a few minor problems with the storm last week with the storm which peaked at what around 100kmh and been far higher than that without any big problems...., a bigger problem here seems to be the stupidity of some trailer drivers who have too high a load on and end up ripping down power and telephone lines, seen several reports of that in recent months....witnessed the aftermath of one myself the driver didn't even realise till he'd driven about a quarter of a mile down the street ripping down about a dozen lines on the way, police everywhere, nice repair bill.....hate to have to explain that one to your boss!

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Posted
  • Location: Camborne
  • Location: Camborne

Near record temps forecast for western S. Dakota and NE Wyoming later today.

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RAPID CITY SD

905 AM MDT TUE MAR 13 2012

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM LATE THIS MORNING THROUGH

EARLY THIS EVENING FOR LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITIES AND GUSTY

SOUTHWEST WINDS FOR MUCH OF NORTHEAST WYOMING AND WESTERN SOUTH

DAKOTA...

.A WARM FRONT WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE THROUGH THE AREA THIS

MORNING. BEHIND THE WARM FRONT...GUSTY SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL

DEVELOP. THESE SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL BRING VERY WARM AND DRY

CONDITIONS TO THE REGION...AND WILL RESULT IN TEMPERATURES RISING

TO NEAR RECORD HIGHS THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA.

SDZ261>266-WYZ259-297>299-140300-

/O.CON.KUNR.FW.W.0004.120313T1600Z-120314T0300Z/

NORTHWESTERN SOUTH DAKOTA PLAINS-SOUTHERN BLACK HILLS-

SOUTHWESTERN SOUTH DAKOTA-BADLANDS AREA-

SOUTH CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA-CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA PLAINS-

SOUTHERN CAMPBELL-NORTHERN CAMPBELL-

LOWER ELEVATIONS OF CROOK AND WESTON COUNTIES-WYOMING BLACK HILLS-

905 AM MDT TUE MAR 13 2012

...RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM MDT THIS EVENING

FOR GUSTY SOUTHWEST WINDS AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITIES FOR FIRE

ZONES 261 THROUGH 266 IN SOUTH DAKOTA...AND FIRE ZONES 259...

297...298...AND 299 IN NORTHEAST WYOMING...

A RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM MDT THIS EVENING.

* WINDS...SOUTHWEST 20 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS 45 MPH ACROSS

WESTERN SOUTH DAKOTA...AND 25 TO 40 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 50 MPH

ACROSS NORTHEAST WYOMING.

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY...FALLING TO 10 TO 15 PERCENT IN THE

AFTERNOON.

* TEMPERATURES...RISING INTO THE 70S TO AROUND 80 THIS

AFTERNOON. SOME 60S IN THE BLACK HILLS.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS

ARE EITHER OCCURRING NOW...OR WILL SHORTLY. A COMBINATION OF

STRONG WINDS...LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AND WARM TEMPERATURES WILL

CREATE EXPLOSIVE FIRE GROWTH POTENTIAL.

&&

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Posted
  • Location: Canmore, AB 4296ft|North Kent 350ft|Killearn 330ft
  • Location: Canmore, AB 4296ft|North Kent 350ft|Killearn 330ft

Crazy weather here today - we have just had about 4 inches of snow in 3 hours - not forecasted. Snow was the size of golf balls. It looked like huge ash falling from the sky. Still going. Its very localised. I spoke to a colleague in Calgary about an hour away and they have blue skies and double digit temperatures.

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Posted
  • Location: Rossland BC Canada
  • Location: Rossland BC Canada

The above news report on the storm combined airport wind speeds with damage reports that happened elsewhere, but I suspect that gusts were closer to 120 km/hr in damage zones. The region further north around Campbell River had severe tree damage from gusts estimated at close to 140 km/hr, the local weather stations went off-line due to the power failures. But anyone who has been out here and seen the size of our trees would know that it takes a very strong wind to bring them down, however, once one of them does come down it takes out a long stretch of hydro (electric) lines. Where I live, the wind was closer to the reported 80 km/hr and we had very little damage, just the usual tree debris that comes down from branches. Anyway, wind storms in this mountainous region are always very hit or miss depending on direction, there will always be some places that get hit harder and some that are shielded to some extent.

We also had some snow showers in the region today, didn't see any here but pictures on the news of several inches of fresh snow about ten miles to my northeast. More like snow pellets from the pictures.

Very warm in the central U.S. again, the month is going to challenge all-time records for March at the rate it has been going.

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Posted
  • Location: Newcastle upon Tyne
  • Weather Preferences: Thunderstorms and heat, North Sea snow
  • Location: Newcastle upon Tyne

Crazy weather here today - we have just had about 4 inches of snow in 3 hours - not forecasted. Snow was the size of golf balls. It looked like huge ash falling from the sky. Still going. Its very localised. I spoke to a colleague in Calgary about an hour away and they have blue skies and double digit temperatures.

Does Canmore get much more snow than Calgary in general? My cousin is considering commuting to Calgary from Canmore as she loves the mountains, but will this actually be feasible in winter? She claims there aren't many times where the snow causes travel disruption in Calgary, but obviously that's cold comfort if she can't get out of Canmore! She will probably burn out anyway, it looks a bit too far to commute daily to me, but then I know someone in the UK who commutes 100 miles each way every day from the Lake District and claims that it isn't too stressful and has been doing so for 10 years.

Edited by Alza
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Posted
  • Location: Canmore, AB 4296ft|North Kent 350ft|Killearn 330ft
  • Location: Canmore, AB 4296ft|North Kent 350ft|Killearn 330ft

Does Canmore get much more snow than Calgary in general? My cousin is considering commuting to Calgary from Canmore as she loves the mountains, but will this actually be feasible in winter? She claims there aren't many times where the snow causes travel disruption in Calgary, but obviously that's cold comfort if she can't get out of Canmore! She will probably burn out anyway, it looks a bit too far to commute daily to me, but then I know someone in the UK who commutes 100 miles each way every day from the Lake District and claims that it isn't too stressful and has been doing so for 10 years.

Its fairly even I'd say. Calgary is about an hours drive, 60 miles, away and they sometimes get storms we dont and vice versa. I would say you can count on one hand the amount of times the roads are disrupted in a winter but you have to be careful on the roads when doing the trip because there is still black ice etc.

The big difference is spring. I'd say we get more snow due to the elevation and our biggest falls are in march/april and sometimes may. But again its so warm its gone pretty quick and doesnt tend to affect the roads

People do commute and there is a bus that takes people in everyday so there are options. I often just pop into head office in Calgary to take a laptop in for repairs and come back. Its such an easy drive - one road, no cars, mindless.

I would say do it just so she has the lifestyle because in the summer, with no worries of bad roads, there is nothing better than driving from the city into the mountains with a look of smugness on your face :-)

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Posted
  • Location: Newcastle upon Tyne
  • Weather Preferences: Thunderstorms and heat, North Sea snow
  • Location: Newcastle upon Tyne

Its fairly even I'd say. Calgary is about an hours drive, 60 miles, away and they sometimes get storms we dont and vice versa. I would say you can count on one hand the amount of times the roads are disrupted in a winter but you have to be careful on the roads when doing the trip because there is still black ice etc.

The big difference is spring. I'd say we get more snow due to the elevation and our biggest falls are in march/april and sometimes may. But again its so warm its gone pretty quick and doesnt tend to affect the roads

People do commute and there is a bus that takes people in everyday so there are options. I often just pop into head office in Calgary to take a laptop in for repairs and come back. Its such an easy drive - one road, no cars, mindless.

I would say do it just so she has the lifestyle because in the summer, with no worries of bad roads, there is nothing better than driving from the city into the mountains with a look of smugness on your face :-)

It sounds lovely! Many people commute for over an hour in large cities anyway through heavy traffic, so I suppose an hour or so along a quiet road wouldn't be very stressful at all.

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Posted
  • Location: Canmore, AB 4296ft|North Kent 350ft|Killearn 330ft
  • Location: Canmore, AB 4296ft|North Kent 350ft|Killearn 330ft

It sounds lovely! Many people commute for over an hour in large cities anyway through heavy traffic, so I suppose an hour or so along a quiet road wouldn't be very stressful at all.

Yep its not stressful - even though its the main highway its always very quiet - only time it might be busy (and by busy means a steady stream still going 110km/h) is Friday at 5pm going to the mountains for the weekend

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Posted
  • Location: St Johns, Newfoundland
  • Location: St Johns, Newfoundland

The above news report on the storm combined airport wind speeds with damage reports that happened elsewhere, but I suspect that gusts were closer to 120 km/hr in damage zones. The region further north around Campbell River had severe tree damage from gusts estimated at close to 140 km/hr, the local weather stations went off-line due to the power failures. But anyone who has been out here and seen the size of our trees would know that it takes a very strong wind to bring them down, however, once one of them does come down it takes out a long stretch of hydro (electric) lines. Where I live, the wind was closer to the reported 80 km/hr and we had very little damage, just the usual tree debris that comes down from branches. Anyway, wind storms in this mountainous region are always very hit or miss depending on direction, there will always be some places that get hit harder and some that are shielded to some extent.

We also had some snow showers in the region today, didn't see any here but pictures on the news of several inches of fresh snow about ten miles to my northeast. More like snow pellets from the pictures.

Very warm in the central U.S. again, the month is going to challenge all-time records for March at the rate it has been going.

I did wonder about that report as 80kmh shouldn't do that sort of damage!

It's been cold here, below freezing since Saturday, had a few cm's Saturdays and flurries most days but generally blue skys and wall to wall sunshine. A bit milder from Friday with some mixed precip about, don't see any snow storms on the horizon yet? I suppose the fog will will start to roll in soon.

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Posted
  • Location: Central Beds
  • Location: Central Beds

I'm heading to the deserts of the West coast next weekend - having a look at the forecasts. Some ridiculous numbers being forecast - in the Northern states, some locations will be reporting temperatures FORTY degrees fahrenheit above average, into the mid-80s! Chicago 32F above average this weekend.

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Posted
  • Location: Canmore, AB 4296ft|North Kent 350ft|Killearn 330ft
  • Location: Canmore, AB 4296ft|North Kent 350ft|Killearn 330ft

We get Chicago news on our tv for some reason and they reported an all time high for March 15 at 82oF, however by last night a cold front and bought the temps back down to the 50's

Def a warm start to spring in some areas of the States....wish it would make it up here. No sign of spring here with more snow as we speak

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Posted
  • Location: Camborne
  • Location: Camborne

Some very high temps in N. Dakota as well.

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND

1030 AM CDT FRI MAR 16 2012

...A RED FLAG WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR WESTERN AND CENTRAL NORTH

DAKOTA TODAY...

...A FIRE WEATHER WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR SOUTHWESTERN NORTH

DAKOTA SATURDAY...

.VERY WARM AND DRY WEATHER IS FORECAST FOR TODAY WITH HIGH

TEMPERATURES WELL INTO THE 70S...WITH SOME 80 DEGREE READINGS

LIKELY. MINIMUM RELATIVE HUMIDITY WILL DROP INTO THE TEENS

SOUTHWEST AND INTO THE 20S NORTHWEST AND CENTRAL. SOUTH TO

SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL INCREASE THROUGH THE DAY...TO 20 TO 25 MPH

WITH GUSTS TO 30 MPH AT TIMES. THE COMBINATION OF WINDS... LOW

RELATIVE HUMIDITY AND DRY FUELS WILL CREATE THE POTENTIAL FOR

EXPLOSIVE FIRE GROWTH. THE RED FLAG WARNING INCLUDES ALL COUNTIES

FROM THE MONTANA BORDER AS FAR EAST AS THE TURTLE MOUNTAINS AND

THE JAMES RIVER BASIN.

ANOTHER WARM...DRY...AND WINDY DAY IS EXPECTED ON SATURDAY. IN

SOUTHWEST NORTH DAKOTA...HIGH TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO REACH

THE LOW TO MID 70S WITH MINIMUM RELATIVE HUMIDITY AROUND 20 PERCENT.

SOUTHEAST WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE TO 20 TO 25 MPH WITH

GUSTS TO NEAR 30 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON. THESE CONDITIONS HAVE

PROMPTED A FIRE WEATHER WATCH FOR COUNTIES IN SOUTHWESTERN NORTH

DAKOTA...INCLUDING MCKENZIE AND DUNN COUNTIES SOUTHWARD TO THE

SOUTH DAKOTA BORDER. CITIES AND TOWNS IN THE WATCH INCLUDE WATFORD

CITY AND KILLDEER...BEACH AND DICKINSON...BOWMAN AND HETTINGER.

NDZ017-018-031>033-040-041-043-044-162330-

/O.CON.KBIS.FW.W.0005.120316T1600Z-120317T0200Z/

/O.CON.KBIS.FW.A.0003.120317T1800Z-120318T0000Z/

MCKENZIE-DUNN-GOLDEN VALLEY-BILLINGS-STARK-SLOPE-HETTINGER-BOWMAN-

ADAMS-

1030 AM CDT FRI MAR 16 2012 /930 AM MDT FRI MAR 16 2012/

...RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM CDT /8 PM MDT/

THIS EVENING FOR LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY...GUSTY SOUTH AND

SOUTHWEST WINDS...AND DRY VEGETATION FOR WESTERN AND CENTRAL NORTH

DAKOTA...

...FIRE WEATHER WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY AFTERNOON

THROUGH SATURDAY EVENING FOR LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY...GUSTY

SOUTHEAST WINDS...AND DRY VEGETATION FOR MOST OF SOUTHWESTERN

NORTH DAKOTA...

* AFFECTED AREA...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 017 MCKENZIE...FIRE WEATHER

ZONE 018 DUNN...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 031 GOLDEN VALLEY...FIRE

WEATHER ZONE 032 BILLINGS...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 033 STARK...FIRE

WEATHER ZONE 040 SLOPE...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 041 HETTINGER...

FIRE WEATHER ZONE 043 BOWMAN AND FIRE WEATHER ZONE 044 ADAMS.

* WINDS...SOUTH TO SOUTHWEST WINDS TODAY 20 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS

AROUND 30 MPH AT TIMES. SOUTHEAST WINDS SATURDAY 20 TO 25 MPH.

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY...RELATIVE HUMIDITY WILL BE AS LOW AS 15

PERCENT TODAY AND AS LOW AS 20 PERCENT ON SATURDAY.

* TEMPERATURES...AFTERNOON HIGHS IN THE UPPER 70S TO LOWER 80S

TODAY AND IN THE LOW TO MID 70S SATURDAY.

* IMPACTS...THE WINDS...LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AND VERY DRY

VEGETATION WILL CREATE THE POTENTIAL FOR EXPLOSIVE FIRE GROWTH

LATE THIS FRIDAY MORNING INTO FRIDAY EVENING. EXPLOSIVE FIRE

GROWTH POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR SATURDAY AFTERNOON AS WELL.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS

ARE EITHER OCCURRING NOW...OR WILL SHORTLY. A COMBINATION OF

STRONG WINDS...LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AND WARM TEMPERATURES WILL

CREATE EXPLOSIVE FIRE GROWTH POTENTIAL.

A FIRE WEATHER WATCH MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS

ARE POSSIBLE. LISTEN FOR LATER FORECASTS AND POSSIBLE RED FLAG

WARNINGS.

&&

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Posted
  • Location: Camborne
  • Location: Camborne

Just a little snippet.

In the US Montana holds the record for extreme temperature differences. It's 187 Deg. F.

The record low -70F Jan 20th 1954 and the high 117F July 5th 1937.

Not alot of people know that.

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