Just For Kids

SEVERE Winter Weather Events

(Excerpts from The Canadian Weather Trivia Calendar)

• September 1999 - January 2000: The driest period in southern Alberta in the past 115 years. January temperatures were near normal, but December was 8 degrees C above average.

• December 27 and 28, 1999: It was so warm in parts of Alberta (as high as 20.6C in Claresholm) that grass fires broke out and trees sprouted leaves. It was hotter in Alberta than in parts of Mexico. In Saskatoon, a skating rink sprouted patches of grass as temperatures hit 7.8C.

• December 25, 1999: An intense storm over Hudson Bay brought hurricane force winds and plummeting temperatures to northern Manitoba. At Churchill, winds gusting to 124 km/h caused temperatures to fall from above zero on Christmas Day to -21 on Boxing Day. Power was interrupted for several hours and communication was cut off or restricted for several weeks.

• December 19, 1999: The first blizzard of the winter slammed into southern Manitoba, shutting down the Trans-Canada Highway and stranding scores of motorists.

• December 18, 1999: Winter arrived suddenly in Calgary when a howling blizzard stranded more than 50 skiers at the top of Canada Olympic Park. Winds gusting to 70 km/h forced officials to close the hill. Some skiers were blown backwards by the strong winds. Others lay on the frozen ground, huddling together, until park staff could send vehicles to bring them down.

• November 1, 1999: The Alberta clipper roared across Manitoba. It was Winnipeg's highest sustained wind speed for November, at 87 km/h with gusts to 113 km/h. It was just 2 km/h below Winnipeg's all-time record set in July 1959. The wind knocked trucks on their side, flooded cottages, forced schools to close, and turned stop signs, scaffolding and commercial signs into projectiles.

• October 31, 1999: An Alberta clipper raced through Saskatchewan bringing several centimetres of snow to the North Battleford region. Winds reached 70 km/h in Saskatoon and 110 km/h in Regina. They knocked down trees, tore off sidings and eavestroughs, and blew over signs. The winds even moved parked cars.

• October 3, 1999: A frigid low of -8.6C at Dauphin, Manitoba and -8.4C at Gimli were new records for the date. However, Dauphin became the province's hot spot that afternoon when the temperature climbed to 7C.

• September 30, 1999: Black ice conditions led to a 90 vehicle pileup in Calgary, closing Deerfoot Trail for 20 hours. It was so icy, paramedics had to abandon their vehicles and walk to the injured.

• February 1, 1999: A thick layer of ice formed on Winnipeg streets, leading to dozens of car accidents. The injured, including those with fractures and concussions, had to wait a long time for paramedics - several of whom were nursing their own injuries. Manitoba Public Insurance processed 850 claims over 8 hours - the busiest day of the winter.

• October 12, 1998: The City of Saskatoon mobilized 75 city workers to trim trees following a huge Thanksgiving Day snowstorm in Saskatchewan. The blizzard damaged up to 3,000 of the city's 90,000 public trees. The storm's heavy, wet snow added weight to the still-leaved trees causing limbs to break.

• April 4-7, 1997: Between November 1996 and April 1997, the Red River Valley received almost double its average precipitation. Then on April 4, a blizzard struck the region, dumping 50 centimetres of snow over three days. Cold weather after the blizzard in April delayed the snow melt until the last week of April. The subsequent spring melt turned the Red River turned into the "Red Sea", covering some 2000 square kilometres, an area equivalent to the size of Prince Edward Island. More than 28 000 people had been evacuated from southern Manitoba by the time the Red River crested in Winnipeg on May 1, reaching its highest peak since 1826. Undertaking its largest military operation since the Korean War, 8500 Canadian soldiers participated in the sandbagging and evacuating. Total damages have been estimated at more than $150-million.

• 31 December 1993 to 19 January 1994: Yellowknife endured a record 20 consecutive days when the minimum temperature was less than or equal to -37C.

• January 29-31, 1989: Alberta was experiencing a mild period during the latter part of January up until a particularly vicious cold front from the Yukon dropped temperatures from plus 2 C to -12 in the span of an hour, as it charged through Edmonton during morning rushhour on the 30th. Rain rapidly changed to heavy snow and the mercury fell to the -25 range and was still falling at noon. By that time the front had surged through Calgary, and by late afternoon the entire province was in the grips of a blizzard. The Edmonton area received the most snow, around 35 cm, an all-time January record. Portions of the province south and east of Red Deer were spared the snow, but still had to endure the bitterly cold winds. The effects of the storm lingered for days. Temperatures were in the minus 30's. In the Edmonton area alone, seven deaths were directly attributed to the storm's fury.

• February 14th and 15th, 1988: A blizzard brought 20 cm of snow to Iqaluit, NT. Winds gusting to over 100 km/h had caused enormous drifting by the 16th. "I knew I was in trouble," one resident said, "when I saw my neighbour walk past my second-story window."

• November 10th, 1986: Winnipeg dug out from beneath 35.8 cm of snow left by a monster 32-hour storm that dumped 30 to 50 cm of the white stuff and created 2 m drifts in southern Manitoba and northwestern Ontario. In Winnipeg, officials pulled buses and snowplows off the roads and closed the airport. Residents used snowmobiles to navigate main arteries.

• January 1, 1973:New Year's Day of 1973 dawned with balmy warm weather over all areas from the Peace River south. However, weather forecasters were looking at early morning weather maps with alarm. The ingredients for an explosive storm were all in place. Although sunny skies and melting snow prevailed, the first blizzard warning hit the wires near 9 a.m. Severe blizzard conditions would first strike Fort St. John during the noon hourand then reach Edmonton shortly after midnight. By daybreak, it had raged southward to Coronation and Medicine Hat. Shortly after the storm struck, a 707 aircraft crashed on approach to the Edmonton International Airport and lost its crew. Highways were blocked, and the loss of power and communications in some rural areas made survival difficult.

• January 15th, 1971: A Chinook blew into Lethbridge, AB, raising the temperature from -20C to 1C in one hour.

• March 4, 1966: One of the biggest storms in the history of Manitoba struck on March 4, 1966, paralyzing southern Manitoba for three days. Winds up to 80 kilometres and snow accumulations of 35.6 centimetres made travel and activities of any type impossible.

• January 6th, 1966: A spectacular weather change occurred at Pincher Creek, AB. Thermometer readings were -24.4C at 7 a.m., 0.6C at 8 a.m., and -21.7C at 9 a.m. The temperature remained steady until 3 p.m. and then rose to 2.2C for the rest of the day.

• December 15th, 1964: On December 14, the nucleus of a winter storm began to develop over the Queen Charlotte Islands. Over the next two days blizzard conditions raged over the southeastern half of Alberta and southern Saskatchewan. The Great Blizzard brought heavy snow, sustained winds of 50 to 90 km/h, and bitterly cold - 34 C temperatures. In Red Deer, Alberta, the temperature with windchill factor was nearly -73C. Lost livestock numbered over 1,000 and 3 people froze to death.The ferocity of this storm is perhaps best explained by the fact that the three people who perished, died in their homes when their stoves went out during the night.

• February 8th, 1947: Southern Saskatchewan was reeling from a series of blizzards that began on 30 January. For 10 days, all highways in Regina were blocked. Railway officials declared conditions the worst in Canadian Rail history. One train lay buried in a snowdrift 1 km long and 8m deep.

• December 29th, 1794: Peter Fidler, a Hudson's Bay Company employee and one of the first weather observers in Canada, recorded that Holland gin freezes solid at -17F, English brandy at -25F and rum at -31F ( that's -27C,-32C and -35C, respectively).