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10 Weather Events Though Out History
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Rogers Pass Avalanche
Sixty-two train men and labourers perished 2 km west of Rogers Pass, BC, when their engine was hit by an avalanche and hurtled 500 metres into Bear Creek. Over 600 volunteers used pick axes and shovels to dig through 10 m of snow in the search for survivors. -
Black Sunday Storm
One of the most severe Great Lakes storms on record swept winds of 140 km/h over lakes Erie and Ontario, taking down 34 ships and 270 sailors. Days later, the crew of one ship was found lashed to the mast, frozen to death -- only the ship survived. -
August Gale Kills 56 in Newfoundland
A hurricane swept through Atlantic Canada washing out roads, filling basements, and swamping boats. In Newfoundland, 56 people died at sea. -
Ontario's Coldest Day on Record
Fourteen sites recorded their coldest-ever temperature, including Ottawa at -38.9°C and Algonquin Park at -45.0°C. Outside Ontario, record cold temperatures were also set in Manitoba, Quebec and Nova Scotia. -
Windsor's Killer Tornado
The third worst killer tornado in Canadian history reared up across the Detroit River, killing 17 people and demolishing or damaging 400 homes in Windsor and the surrounding county. The tornado also took down 150 barns and farm buildings, and uprooted hundreds of orchard trees and full-grown woodlots. -
Coldest Temperature in North America
he temperature in Snag, Yukon dipped to -63°C, establishing Canada's reputation for extreme cold. -
Fishing Fleet Disaster off Esuminac
More than 30 fishermen drowned in the worst storm disaster ever to hit the Gulf of St. Lawrence fishing fleet. Twenty-two salmon boats sank by a sudden, smashing north-easterly gale. -
Crater in Quebec Opens During Rainstorm
Tragedy struck the village of St-Jean-Vianney, Quebec when heavy rains caused a sinkhole 600 m wide and 30 m deep to appear in a residential area. The crater/mudslide killed 31 people and swallowed up 35 homes, a bus and several cars. -
Tornadoes in Barrie and Central Ontario
Fourteen tornadoes struck several Ontario communities, namely Barrie, Grand Valley, Orangeville and Tottenham. The Barrie tornado killed eight people. In all, the family of tornadoes injured hundreds of people, destroyed or damaged over 1,000 buildings and killed 12 people, tying it with the Pine Lake, AB tornado in 2000 as the fourth deadliest tornadic day in Canada. The Grand Valley tornado that began near Arthur and moved east to Cam -
Greatest Single-Day Snowfall Record
Tahtsa Lake, BC, received 145 cm of snow, a new Canadian single-day snowfall record, but well below the world's record of 192 cm at Silver Lake, Colorado on April 15, 1921