The Worst 25 Storms of the Past 25 Years

The Weather Network has released a list of the top 25 storms of the past 25 years and no surprise that Kelowna made the list.

The list coincides with the network’s quarter century anniversary and narrows down the worst thunderstorms, blizzards, hurricanes, tornados and more from B.C. to Newfoundland. Here a few of the severe weather events that really stood out for the network in chronological order.

The Calgary, Alta. Hailstorm, September 7^th, 1991:

For 30 minutes hail pounded Calgary homes and vehicles as pelts up to 10cm in size rained down. When everything was said and done the total losses as a result of damage was more than $300 million.

The Saquenay, Que. Flood, July 19-20, 1996:

Massive flooding in Quebec shattered records due to volume and cost. Around 280 mm of rain fell in the region in just a few hours, producing the largest overland deluge in Canada. That’s the equivalent to the amount of water that flows over Niagara Falls during a two month period.

Ten people lost their lives, flooding and mudslides drove 16,000 people from their homes, 488 homes were destroyed and another 1,230 damaged. Total losses from the flood came to more than $1.5 billion, Canada’s first ever billion dollar disaster.

B.C.’s “whitemare” winter storms, December 1996:

During the last 10 days of December more than 100 cm of snow fell in Victoria as well as Vancouver. Records were broken in Victoria as 65 cm of snowfall was recorded on December 29^th. The army was called in to help with the cleanup, a first since 1916.

Manitoba’s Red River Flood of Spring 1997:

During the annual rise of the Red River, a deep snowpack and record high water content caused the water to push 12 m about flood level. The record levels forced 28,000 to flee to safety and damaged cost around #500 million.

The Ice Storm of the Century, 1998:

Eastern Canada was slammed from January 4^th to 10^th from Georgian Bay to the Bay of Fundy with thick ice. Rain and ice pellets exceeded 100 mm in some regions and all but paralyzed the entire region including power infrastructure. As many as 35 people died, insurance losses came to $1.5 million and total storm damage cost more than $3 billion.

The Pine Lake, Alta. Tornado of July 14, 2000:

The first deadly Canadian tornado of 13 years had strength of an F3 and reached winds of 330 km per hour. The ordeal was over in just a minute and wind gust hurled between 40 and 50 trailers, killed 12 people and injured 140. Damages were around the $13 million range.

British Columbia’s 2003 fire season:

The summer of 2003 was one of flame and smoke for the province and specifically Kelowna. Abnormally hot and dry weather contributed to more than 2,500 wildfires making it the worst fire season in 50 years. More than 2,600 sq km of land was charred, 334 homes burned to the ground and three pilots lost their lives fighting the flames. The cost was more than $700 million and was deemed the costliest wildfire season in B.C. history.

For the rest of the list visit the Weather Network Website.