TORONTO, ON – From extreme heat to never-seen-before flooding in British Columbia, it was quite the year for weather across Canada.
Extreme summer time heat here in the western half of the country was chosen as the number one weather story in 2021.
The annual list was released Thursday by Environment Canada’s Senior Climatologist, David Phillips.
The heat dome set daily records in late June and early July as you will likely remember, including a blistering 49.6°C recorded in Lytton, British Columbia. That was the hottest temperature every recorded in Canada. A day later, most of that entire village was lost in a ranging wildfire.
Lethbridge set a number of new daytime heat records during that stretch as well as the heat moved from west to east.
The number two weather story this year was the B.C. flooding earlier this fall, followed by extreme dry conditions coast-to-coast and a very active and early wildfire season.
Officials say these top stories clearly show that Canadians across the country are seeing unprecedented extreme weather, fuelled by climate change.
Top 10 Weather Stories of 2021:
- Record Heat Under the Dome
- British Columbia’s Flood of Floods
- Canada Dry Coast to Coast
- Wildfire Season – early, active and unrelenting
- Canada rides out four heat waves
- Year of the EF2 Tornado
- Dreaded Arctic Blast Freezes Canada in February
- Another hailer-flooder in Calgary
- Hurricane Larry belonged to Newfoundland
- January Prairie Clipper