Top Ten Weather Stories

The Top Ten Weather Stories of 1996

In 1996, Canadians suffered through some of the most extreme and destructive weather to ever hit the country. For most of the year, the weather either froze, buried, soaked, buffeted or frightened us. No part of the nation seemed to escape the wrath of the weather gods in 1996.

It was truly the stuff of a Hollywood catastrophe film -weather bombs on Vancouver Island, hailers on the Prairies, deluges of biblical proportion in Quebec. Three drive-in theatres were heavily damaged by tornadoes, and yes, they were about to show "Twister."

The outbursts of extreme and freakish weather made the year, by far and away, the most expensive for Canada's property and casualty insurers. Most of the financial fallout stemmed from flooding in Quebec's Saguenay region -Canada's first billion dollar catastrophe --but multi-million dollar hailstorms in Winnipeg and Calgary; flash flooding in Ottawa and Montreal; and severe thunderstorms in Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta also took their toll.

Total property damage will likely exceed $1.5 billion when final figures are tallied. Indirect costs and losses from revenue shortfall, cancelled events, missed opportunities and slowed business will probably be a $3 billion hit to the Canadian economy.

Remarkably though, the number of personal injuries and fatalities linked to weather incidents could have been much higher. Unofficial numbers point to fewer than 25 weather-related deaths (excluding deaths from road accidents and hypothermia) -10 from the storms in the Saguenay and six from lightning in separate incidents. Timely and accurate weather warnings and advisories issued by Environment Canada have helped reduce the number of casualties and damage from natural hazards.

Here are the top ten weather stories of 1996, ranked according to total estimated losses:

Top Ten Weather Stories of 1996

1. The Saquenay Flood
2. High Energy Costs
3. Costly Prairie Hailstorms
4. Wet and Cold Weather Reduces Crop Yields
5. Deep Winter Snows
6. Slow Spring Affects Retail Sales
7. Flash Flooding in Ottawa and Montreal
8. Severe Storms and Tornadoes
9. Spring Flooding
10. Hurricanes and Weather "Bombs"

#1 The Saguenay Flood

By far the worst catastrophe of the year, and Canada's first billion dollar natural disaster, was the flooding and mud slides in Quebec's Saguenay River valley in mid-July. The storm produced the largest ever overland deluge in Canada this century -an amount equivalent to a two-month flow over Niagara Falls -triggering a surge of water, rocks, trees and mud that killed ten people and forced 12,000 residents to flee their homes. It was the deadliest flood since Hurricane Hazel in Toronto in 1954.

The scale of the tragedy was staggering. Many of the region's roads and bridges and delivery systems for power and water simply disappeared. To the insurance industry it was Canada's worst-ever weather disaster in economic losses. By including insured and uninsured losses and indirect costs to the economy, total losses are sure to exceed $1.5 billion.

#2 High Energy Costs

In much of Canada, 1996 featured one of the longest and most vicious winters in recent memory. Three straight weeks of frigid weather gripped almost the entire country in January making it colder in most cities in western and central Canada than it was at the North Pole. To keep up with the cold, utility companies pumped out power in record amounts from British Columbia to New Brunswick. Canadians paid an additional $500 million to keep their dwellings as comfortable as in winter 1995.

#3 Costly Prairie Hailstorms

In July, hailstones the size of fists bombarded Winnipeg and Calgary, racking up close to $300 million in property losses. In Manitoba, more than half the losses were for auto damage, making it the worst single disaster claim against the Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation in its 25-year history. At least a third of the cars damaged had to be written off. In Calgary, hail and flooding rains knocked out the city's 911 service and swept away cars.

#4 Wet and Cold Weather Reduces Crop Yields

Unfortunately for western farmers. prospects in early September for one of the most bountiful grain crops in Canadian history didn't exactly materialize. Fall temperatures across the west were much-below normal (the Prairies had their second coldest fall in half a century) and precipitation was much-above normal (the 7th wettest fall in about 50 years). Cool wet weather during the harvest of western red spring wheat led to a severe drop in its grade distribution, denying farmers an additional $180 million.

In southern Ontario winter wheat production was severely affected by the wet cool weather throughout the growing season. Record rainfall resulted in the worst outbreak of blight fungus ever seen in Ontario. According to Agriculture Canada, the excessive moisture and disease not only reduced yields, but it also reduced the quality of most of the crop to feed, since affected grain cannot be used for human consumption. The loss was estimated to be about $90 million.

#5 Deep Winter Snows

So much snow fell early in the winter that before 1996 even started, many cities in western and central Canada had all but exhausted their snow removal budgets. Hardest hit was the central Ontario snow belt from Barrie to Sault Ste. Marie, where on several' occasions, cars disappeared in snow drifts, service centres became refugee camps, roofs collapsed, and schools closed up.

Insurance claims paid in the first three months of 1996 were 11 % higher than in 1995 when the weather was much less severe. Total insured losses owing to the weather were estimated at $165 million.

#6 Slow Spring Affects Retail Sales

For most of Canada, the winter season gave way to the monsoon season. Unrelenting rains and dreary weather plagued the country from April to June. Garden centres and golf courses were virtually empty during the spring. Retailers blamed the persistent cool and rainy weather for a 30% drop in the sales of weather-sensitive goods and services, such as pools, air conditioners and warm season apparel. Sales of general merchandise in April and June were down by $100 million over the previous year's numbers.

#7 Flash Flooding in Ottawa and Montreal

The third major storm in less than two weeks, and the worst on record, hit Ottawa-Hull in early August with a deluge of 100 to 150 mm of rain in 90 minutes. Total insured property damage exceeded $20 million, not including the cost of repairs to damaged sewers and roads. Between November 7 and 9, thirty hours of steady rains drenched parts of Montreal and southwestern Quebec. The rains washed out sections of highway, collapsed bridges, derailed trains, and undermined road and rail beds. Damage estimates put the event at $50 million and climbing.

#8 Severe Thunderstorms and Tornadoes

The snow had hardly melted in southern Ontario when the season's first tornadoes tore through regions east of Lake Huron in April The twisters injured two people and caused total property losses, much of it uninsured, approaching $8 million. Severe thunderstorms on July 4 spawned at least eight tornadoes in Saskatchewan. Winds of 140 km/h and hail the size of golf balls produced $15 million in property damage. Two weeks later seven tornadoes touched down in Alberta, trashing trailers and flattening granaries to the tune of $10 million. Near Stoney Plain, more than 100 mm of rain fell in severe thunderstorms backing up sewers and flooding basements for another $10 million in losses. Tornado-related damage in Canada easily exceeded $50 million.

#9 Spring Flooding

Significant flooding occurred in several communities across Canada during much of the spring and early summer. The Okanagan experienced its worst flooding in six years. The Red River inundated farm fields, roads and major highways leading authorities to declare a provincial flood disaster for the first time since 1979. In Winnipeg, the costs of filling 336,000 sandbags and protecting pumping stations alone cost $1.2 million. In Timmins Ontario, the Mattagami River overflowed its banks in the worst flooding in 36 years. Although damage figures for spring flooding across Canada are still being tallied, final figures are expected to range between $20 and $50 million.

#10 Hurricanes and Weather Bombs

Four hurricane-force storms struck Eastern Canada in 1996: Bertha, Edouard, Fran and Hortense. It was the second consecutive season with above-average hurricane -formation in the North Atlantic. In 1996 there were 13 named storms of which 9 were hurricanes, including six intense ones, compared to a normal of 9 storms, 6 hurricanes and 2 intense ones. Hortense, which swept east of Halifax and traversed western Newfoundland on September 14, was the first hurricane to achieve landfall in Canada in 21 years. Winds topped 161 km/h on Cape Breton Island, felling trees, lifting roofs and blowing out windows. Total property losses approached $5 million.

Described as the worst storm since Typhoon Freda in 1962, a weather "bomb" struck Vancouver Island on October 17, causing massive power outages while felling trees, setting adrift 50 pleasure boats and ripping apart docks. A weather bomb is a storm that intensifies very quickly and moves faster than a hurricane. This storm packed winds as strong as 161 km/h and produced waves as high as 30 metres. Final cost figures are not available yet, but the insured property damages could exceed $1 million.

Putting it All in Perspective

So are the number of weather-related disasters in Canada and around the world increasing? According to the Insurance Bureau of Canada, ever since the Edmonton tornado of 1987, the number of multi-million dollar losses from weather disasters has been on the rise in Canada. Around the world, insurers have witnessed, over the last 20 years, a four-fold increase in the number of weather catastrophes. More worrisome, costs from natural disasters have risen ten-fold during the same period. Before 1987 there was not a single natural disaster with damages exceeding $1 billion anywhere in the world, but since then there have been at least 18 such disasters.

While the outbursts of extreme and freakish weather were interesting for many climatologists in Canada, they weren't generally surprised by the unusual weather patterns. By its very nature, weather is quite chaotic and turbulent, and extremes, especially in Canada, are a normal feature of the climate. Climatologists are, however, becoming increasingly concerned that the volatile weather in 1996 might be a dry run of the extreme conditions we might expect from a warming climate.

The Green Lane^TM,
Environment Canada's World Wide Web Site.