Sometimes it’s tough to come up with a topic to write about, especially when the weather is being quiet. For this issue I have the opposite problem, but it’s making it just as tough to come up with a topic.
Usually I don’t discuss extreme weather events in detail, as by the time you read it the details have usually already been exhausted in other media. So I’m not going to talk directly about the flooding in Alberta or southwestern Manitoba. So there goes one idea.
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Heatwaves and upper highs
Weather expert Daniel Bezte looks at heat waves and the climate factors that lead to extended periods of high heat in the Prairies.
By the time you read this, July has already started, so you may be expecting a “month in review” article, along with the look ahead to the long-range forecast for July and August. This time the long weekend played against me, as my deadline was before the long weekend, so that article will have to wait. Next idea, please!
Most of the weather-related problems we’ve seen across the Prairies over the last month have been related to upper lows. Problem is, I discussed upper lows a couple of issues ago. Hmm… what to write about now?
Personally, my philosophy when writing has always been on the education and understanding side of the weather story. acts and figures are great, but I want people to understand why they experienced the weather they did. Since we are just entering the peak summer weather season, I figured I would continue with my look at severe summer weather and this time my topic is one of the most dreaded phenomena: hail.
When you discuss severe summer weather there seems to be some kind of love/hate relationship between heavy rain, lightning and tornadoes, but when it comes to hail, that relationship is pure hate. Unless the hail occurs in March or early April, I don’t think there is one farmer or gardener who thinks hail is cool. I used to be one of those who loved hail — that is, until I owned my own car and house and had a vegetable garden.
Just how often can you expect to see hail across the Prairies? Over most of the Prairies it would be one to three times a year. There are hot spots that can see upward of five days per year, in south-central Alberta, extreme southern Saskatchewan and south-central Manitoba. By far the most active area is in south-central Alberta — and in particular, Calgary. Looking at the most expensive hailstorms across Canada the vast majority has occurred in Alberta, with a few bad ones in Manitoba. The accompanying table gives us a list of the most destructive hail storms based on insured damage. An interesting thing to note is the dates of these top hail-damaging storms.
Unfortunately, I could not find a more recent list of hailstorms, as I know Alberta and in particular, Calgary, has seen hail storms as big if not bigger. While it wasn’t a comprehensive search, I did take a quick look and found references to hailstorms with more than $300 million to $400 million in damage in Calgary on July 12, 2010 and Aug. 12-13, 2012, with other mentions of notable hailstorms occurring on July 6, 2006, July 31, 2012, and Aug. 7, 2012. In Alberta alone, hail damage estimates in 2012 totaled $530 million!
The Insurance Bureau of Canada says the frequency, severity and cost of extreme weather in Canada are increasing. Annual payouts from flooding, fire, hail and windstorms increased from $100 million about 10 years ago to $1 billion between 2009 and 2012 (source: CBC, May 29).
The big question: why does Alberta, in particular, and then southern Manitoba, see so many bad or damaging hail storms compared to the rest of the country? Well, for Alberta it has to do with topography, or the lay of the land, whereas in Manitoba it has more to do with its closer proximity to Gulf moisture that can help fuel really big storms.
Unfortunately, I’m running out of room for this issue article, but will definitely continue with this next time. Until then, let’s hope the first part of the summer is warm and, for most of us, relatively dry
Recent Prairie hailstorms and their damage (in $ millions)
- Province Date Year Damage
- Alberta July 24/25 1996 75
- Alberta July 16-18 1996 103
- Manitoba July 16 1996 105
- Alberta July 13-15 1995 52
- Alberta July 10 1995 26
- Alberta July 4 1995 15
- Manitoba Aug. 27 1994 7
- Alberta June 18 1994 8
- Alberta July 29/30 1993 8
- Alberta Sept. 1 1992 7
- Alberta Aug. 28 1992 5
- Alberta July 31 1992 22
- Alberta Sept. 7 1991 343
- Alberta July 9 1990 16
- Alberta Aug. 16 1988 37
