The Senior Climatologist with Environment Canada says a hailstorm in mid-May ended up being one of the biggest weather events of 2024 for southern Manitoba.
Environment Canada has released its list of 10 most impactful weather stories of the year. David Phillips says honourable mention goes to the hailstorm on May 16th, which developed between the Manitoba lakes and brought rain and Toonie-sized hail.
The storm left a wide swath of damage, in places like Winnipeg, Gladstone, and Portage la Prairie, where some drifts of hail were a foot deep. But, closer to home, motorists driving down Highway 59 near Niverville, suddenly experienced winter-like conditions as roads and fields were as white as snow.
Phillips says the storm resulted in damage to vehicles, crops, and homes. It snapped trees and broke power lines. He notes insurance claims hit $56 million from that storm alone.
Phillips says 2024 will be remembered as a very warm year for Manitoba. In fact, he says it may very well end up being the warmest on record. In looking back at our four seasons, he says it was only the 21st warmest spring and the 17th warmest summer. However, the winter of 2023-24 was the warmest on record for Manitoba, while the months of September, October, and November produced the warmest fall on record.
Meanwhile, Phillips says the top weather story for 2024 across Canada was the inferno in Jasper. He notes wildfires destroyed one-third of the town, causing 5,000 residents to flee their homes and 20,000 visitors to escape. Phillips says there was nearly one billion dollars in property losses, making it the second costliest fire in Canadian history, trailing only the $4.5 billion Fort McMurray wildfire of 2016.
"To see it go up in flames was really difficult for Canadians to deal with," recalls Phillips.
He says for many Canadians, Jasper is on their bucket list of places they must visit. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Phillips says Jasper holds so much importance in Canada for its beautiful setting in The Rockies.
The rest of the list of 10 most impactful weather stories of the year, as per Environment Canada, is as follows:
2. Central Canada bears the brunt of the 2024 hurricane season
In Canada, the impacts of tropical cyclones tend to be felt most strongly in the Atlantic provinces. This year, however, central Canada bore the brunt of the activity, as the remnants of two tropical cyclones caused significant flooding across parts of the region.
3. Western Canada plunged into January deep freeze
Temperatures plunged as low as the minus 40s across parts of Canada's three westernmost provinces, with the coldest wind chills dipping below minus 50. Between January 11 and 15, over 60 daily minimum temperature records were broken across British Columbia. Alberta saw about 125 daily minimum temperature records, including eight all-time cold records broken between January 10 and 17. Saskatchewan saw nearly 25 daily minimum records and one all-time cold record broken.
4. Atmospheric rivers deliver double blow to British Columbia
Each year, about 30 to 40 atmospheric rivers reach coastal British Columbia, typically delivering beneficial precipitation that replenishes mountain snowpacks and water supply. However, when they are strong, long-lasting, or occur in succession, their effects can become more hazardous than beneficial, triggering dangerous flooding. In 2024, atmospheric rivers contributed to dangerous flooding, deadly landslides, and road washouts across southwestern British Columbia in both January and October.
5. Billion-Dollar hailstones: Calgary's costliest weather disaster
On the evening of August 5, two intense, rotating thunderstorms erupted along the southern Alberta foothills and moved southeast toward the Calgary region. The southern storm dropped baseball-sized hail as it plowed through rural lands southeast of the city, while the northern storm battered thousands of homes and vehicles across Calgary's northern suburbs.
6. Southern Ontario's summer of floods
It was a soggy summer in southern Ontario, with several bouts of heavy rain causing significant flooding across parts of the region. Two events particularly stood out, bringing widespread impacts to the Greater Toronto Area on both occasions.
7. Arctic communities face unusual heat wave
It's not often that temperatures over 30 °C make it all the way to the shores of the Arctic Ocean, but that's exactly what happened when a multi-day heat wave spread across parts of Canada's north.
8. Cape Breton's winter wallop
The trouble began when an intensifying low-pressure system stalled off the coast of Nova Scotia from February 2 to 5. Winter storm systems typically travel along with stronger winds higher in the atmosphere, but upper winds around this storm were notably weak, enabling it to become parked in one place. Drawing from a steady supply of moisture, the expanding storm system brought heavy snow and gusty northerly winds across Atlantic Canada for an extended period.
9. Summer split: Maritimes sizzle while Alberta shivers
It was a tale of two extremes across Canada when the third week of June rolled around. In Atlantic Canada, a crescendo of hot, humid weather peaked between June 18 and 20, setting numerous daily, monthly, and all-time high temperature records. An unusually strong ridge of high pressure built in the atmosphere over eastern North America, causing sinking air and clear skies. These conditions allowed surface temperatures to climb well above 30 °C from parts of Ontario and Quebec to Atlantic Canada. While eastern Canada endured stifling heat, western Canada was left out in the cold, with Alberta setting 46 daily record lows across the province between June 15 and 20.
10. Wildfires and evacuations in western Labrador
It was a summer on edge in western Labrador, as wildfires triggered the evacuation of entire towns on more than one occasion. Residents of Churchill Falls and Labrador City were among those forced to flee when wildfires began to burn a little too close to home.
Phillips says even though the Top 10 list does not make much mention of Manitoba, that is not necessarily a bad thing.
"You don't want to be known as in the Top 10 of the best, because these are mostly stories of misery, hardship, and misfortune," adds Phillips. "So, if you are just a footnote in that list, then consider yourself lucky."