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Forecast is looking grim: The most storm-prone cities across Canada

Storm clouds in Alberta (DC Productions/Thinkstock)
Storm clouds in Alberta (DC Productions/Thinkstock)

You think your city is the stormiest?

You may wonder how your city stacks up against others across Canada when it comes to record inclement weather. But ask a hundred people across Canada how bad their local weather can get, and many will claim they have the worst. However if we look at historical data, it turns out there are in fact some regions that are particularly prone to certain kinds of severe natural disasters, be they tornadoes or hurricanes, that make them stand out.

As far as the top five major cities go, here is our list from west to east that are prone to the worst weather bombs nature can throw at them:

Flooded Caglary Stampede Grounds - June 2013
Flooded Caglary Stampede Grounds - June 2013

Calgary - Flooding

Massive flooding caused by storms in the past century have swept through southern Alberta, and straight through the heart of Calgary, affecting hundreds of thousands of people, displacing countless number of residents and damaging homes.

The most recent of which occurred in June  2013 when torrential rain caused a whopping downpour of 200mm in just 2 days, caused the Bow river to quickly swell. Flow rates in the river were 5 to 10 times what they normally were.

It is estimated that 120,000 were forced out of their homes, wrecking entire communities and causing billions of dollars worth of damage.

While the 2013 epic flood was not the largest on record - which actually dates back to the 19th century - it did cause the most damage, due mainly to the expansion of populated areas throughout the floodplains.

What are the chances of a repeat performance this century? A flood of this magnitude or larger has about a 30% chance of happening by 2050.

Brennan Rasmussen picks his way through a thick sheet of ice in order to get traction to get back up onto the road during a freezing rain storm on Monday Feb. 9, 2009 in Winnipeg, Man. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Winnipeg Free Press - Ruth Bonneville
Brennan Rasmussen picks his way through a thick sheet of ice in order to get traction to get back up onto the road during a freezing rain storm on Monday Feb. 9, 2009 in Winnipeg, Man. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Winnipeg Free Press - Ruth Bonneville

Winnipeg Freezing temperatures

While Winnipeg has had its share of floods, its the sheer intense bone-chilling cold that can grip the city that really numbs the mind and has made headlines.

In 2014 Winnipeg broke the record for the coldest winter in entire Canada and claimed the record for the chilliest season the city has experienced since 1898.

In fact at one point Winnipeg had the dubious distinction of having temperatures seen on our neighbouring planet Mars. According to NASA’s rover Curiosity, temperatures in late December 2013 reached a high of -29 degrees Celsius in the giant desert-like crater the robot is continuing to explore.

Back in the deep freeze of northern parts of Manitoba where it was even colder, plummeting down to - 31 C and with the windchill feeling like - 53.

Brutal temperatures like these are nothing unusual for this part of the country that experiences a cold continental climate that usually brings short, very warm summers and long bitterly cold winters. On the flip side, residents say that heir windy but sunny dry climate is more tolerable than the damp conditions seen often in the southern Ontario.

Ice sticks to a window during spring snowstorm inMontreal, Que., on April 4, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS IMAGES/Rachel Verbin
Ice sticks to a window during spring snowstorm inMontreal, Que., on April 4, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS IMAGES/Rachel Verbin

Montreal - Ice storms

Straddling the North American Jet Stream the city of Montreal is no stranger to wild and unpredictable weather systems blowing through. But it’s probably most famous for ice storms hitting its residents and shutting the city down for days.

A combination of freezing rain, high winds and rapid drops in temperatures can affect the Ste’Lawrence valley in late December and early January time period. And while in some years this only makes for a messy travel conditions for most, sometimes it can create the perfect storm for ice to form quickly and in thick layers.

On two occasions, in 1998 and 2015, a dangerous mix of precipitation brought on epic ice storms to Montreal, the likes of which hadn’t been seen in generations.

The danger lies when hours and days of nonstop drizzle falls followed by a rapid drop in temperatures that freezes the precipitation nearly instantaneously. The weight of layer upon layer of  ice forming on trees causes large branches to snap and come down onto sidewalks, roads and power lines.

At the height of the 2015 January ice storm outages, more than 150,000 Quebecers were without electricity for days. However it is estimated that close to 4 million were left in the dark for over a week, in the great once-in-a-century ice storm of 1998.

A man walks along the washed-out causeway in Cow Bay, N.S. near Halifax on Sunday, Nov. 4, 2007. A powerful storm, remnants of hurricane Noel, swept through the Atlantic region leaving thousands without power. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan
A man walks along the washed-out causeway in Cow Bay, N.S. near Halifax on Sunday, Nov. 4, 2007. A powerful storm, remnants of hurricane Noel, swept through the Atlantic region leaving thousands without power. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan

Halifax - Hurricanes

While bonafide hurricanes reaching Canadian territories are rare - about only once a decade on average -  their remnants that do sweep up on our shores can still pack a a powerful punch.

In 2014 while by the time Hurricane Arthur reached Nova Scotia it was downgraded to a post-tropical storm, its winds lashed Halifax with gusts up to 115 km per hour and brought buckets of torrential  rain that meant the region suffered from widespread blackouts and flooding.

However it’s 2003’s Hurricane Juan that is probably etched into everyone’s recent memory, as it is considered one one of the most destructive to ever hit Canada and the worst to hit Halifax since 1893.

After racing up the Atlantic coast it surprisingly did not loose much steam, like most hurricanes are expected to generally do because of the colder Canadian waters, and instead hit Nova Scotia while still a Category 2 storm, packing sustained winds of 160 km per hour. The massive storm caused 8 fatalities and over 300 million dollars in damages.

A resident digs out a car following a snowstorm in St. John's on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2007 that dumped more than 30 centimetres on the city. (CP PHOTO/ Rhonda Hayward) CANADA
A resident digs out a car following a snowstorm in St. John's on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2007 that dumped more than 30 centimetres on the city. (CP PHOTO/ Rhonda Hayward) CANADA

St. Johns Blizzards

Maritimers are some of the most winter hardy folk out there, and the city of St. John’s in Newfoundland receives some of the wettest and harshest weather of any major Canadian city.

The residents of know when its time to hunker down, ride out major blizzards.  But they get more than their fair share. So much so that on average they have to dig out of 21 days of heavy snow every year, with nearly 10 of that being pounded by nasty blizzards that bring on average at least 10 centimetres of snow each.

And yes it can snow in May too.

 

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