Snowstorm sweeps Southeastern U.S.

Man cuts fallen tree blocking a road in South Carolina, 09 Dec 2018 (Reuters)

Several deaths have been reported after a massive snowstorm buried parts of the Southeastern United States with more than 30 cm falling in several major cities to as much as 60 cm in the Appalachian Mountains.

North Carolina and Virginia were especially hard hit by the storm system which slowly moved out into the Atlantic Ocean today.

Highways became hazardous as snowy, icy conditions led to hundreds of collisions, dozens of flights were cancelled and schools and businesses shut down.

About 300,000 customers also lost electricity during the peak as the storm knocked trees onto power lines.

Advertisements

Enough rain already!

Another low pressure system is heading to the Maritimes with two rounds of rain starting early Tuesday stretching into early Wednesday.

Environment Canada says Greater Moncton could receive up to 35 mm of rain but some parts of the region could get 50 mm or more prompting rainfall warnings.

Winds associated with this system will be much lighter compared to the destructive winds over the weekend.

Meantime, NB Power reports about 27,000 customers remain without electricity (at 11pm AST) since restoration efforts began Sunday morning after a weekend rain and wind storm.

Powerful winds pummel Maritimes

Tree topples over following powerful winds, 04 Nov 2018 (NB Power)

An intense low pressure system moving up from the U.S. Eastern Seaboard brought heavy rain and strong winds to the Maritimes overnight.

The powerful hurricane-force gusts knocked out electricity to more than 100,000 customers in New Brunswick during the height of the storm.

Temperatures were very mild thanks to a southerly flow with highs exceeding 20°C in some areas including a new record of 21.7°C in Cheticamp.

Rainfall amounts (mm):

• Kejimkujik, NS  93
• Alma, NB  85
• Greater Moncton  69
• Fredericton  64
• Saint John  60
• Summerside, PEI  58
• Halifax Stanfield  45

Wind gusts (km/h):

• Bouctouche, NB  119
• North Cape, PEI  117
• Greater Moncton  110
• North Mountain, NS  108
• Grand Etang, NS  106
• Fredericton  102
• Saint John  100
• Halifax Stanfield  100

(Data courtesy Environment Canada)

Strong winds across Atlantic Canada

A fast-moving cold front passed through the Maritimes today on its way to Newfoundland.

Powerful winds developed as a result which knocked out electricity to tens of thousands of customers across New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.

The Greater Moncton International Airport recorded a gust of almost 90 km/h late this morning with Cape Breton Island reporting winds of more than 100 km/h.

Many locations across Newfoundland had hurricane-force gusts including Bonavista at 126 km/h, Wreckhouse at 107 km/h and St. John’s at 104 km/h.

The cold front also affected Southern Quebec yesterday with gusts of more than 80 km/h in Montreal and Quebec City.

Powerful winds pummel Eastern Arctic

A powerful storm brought destructive winds to the Eastern Arctic with gusts up to 140 km/h in Nunavut, Nunavik (northern Quebec) and northern Labrador.

The power was knocked out in Iqaluit where residents were cleaning up debris and assessing roof damage on some buildings.

Environment Canada reported a peak wind gust of 124 km/h in Iqaluit but that was still below the record of 156 km/h from 1960.

Forecasters say the cyclogenesis or weather bomb featured rapidly dropping central pressure which generated strong winds.

Summer departs with gusty winds

Hints of fall colours in west end Moncton, 20 Sept 2018 (Dearing)

The same storm system which brought severe weather to Ontario and Quebec – including tornadoes – crossed through New Brunswick overnight.

Strong low pressure caused gusty winds up to 72 km/h at the Greater Moncton International Airport which turned out to be the windiest day since 02 June.

A wind gust of 85 km/h was reported in Charlo.

NB Power said almost 10,000 customers lost power at the peak of the storm thanks to trees and branches falling on utility lines.

Incidentally, fall officially arrives later tonight with the autumnal equinox at 10:54 pm ADT.

Tornadoes tear through Ottawa

Damage from a tornado in west end Ottawa, ON, 22 Sept 2018 (Instagram)

Environment Canada has confirmed two powerful tornadoes ripped through west end Ottawa before touching down again in Gatineau across the Ottawa River.

Officials say dozens were hurt and at least two residents are in hospital with critical injuries.

Tens of thousands were left without power after at least 80 utility poles either snapped or were damaged.

Meteorologists say severe thunderstorms spawned one twister classified as an EF-3 with winds up to 265 km/h while another tornado was an EF-2 with winds up to 220 km/h.

Tornadoes are not uncommon in Southern Ontario but storms of this strength are rare.

Florence creates historic flooding

Fallen tree traps residents inside home, Wilmington, NC, USA, 15 Sept 2018 (ABC)

Since making landfall near Wilmington, North Carolina on Friday morning as a Category 1 hurricane, Florence has claimed at least 15 lives.

Strong winds have toppled trees trapping some and even killing others in their own homes.

Now a tropical depression, the storm has been dumping epic amounts of rain (800 mm or more) on North and South Carolina which has caused flash flooding as rivers and streams spill their banks.

First responders have rescued almost 1,000 residents from floodwaters while nearly one million are without power and tens of thousands have sought refuge in emergency shelters.

Many highways have been left impassable and officials are urging drivers to stay at home and off the roads.

Strong winds cause destruction in Eastern Canada

Tree falls near school bus in Mississauga, Ontario, 04 May 2018 (Twitter/Peel Regional Police)

A rapidly deepening low pressure system created strong winds gusting to hurricane-strength across Southern Ontario and Southern Quebec on Friday knocking down trees and power lines causing massive outages.

Three people were killed by fallen trees and a school bus filled with children in Mississauga had a near miss.

Toronto Pearson Airport had a maximum wind gust of 119 km/h while Montreal Trudeau Airport recorded 117 km/h – both are the windiest days ever in May.

Winds were also powerful on Saturday in Greater Moncton with a wind gust of 100 km/h – the strongest since January.

Icy weekend in Central Canada

A tree falls onto an SUV in an ice storm, East York, Toronto, ON, 15 April 2018 (R. Johnston/Toronto Star)

A slow moving low pressure system brought a wintry mix of snow, ice pellets, freezing rain, rain and strong winds to Southern Ontario and Southern Quebec over the weekend.

Icy conditions led to more than 1,600 highway crashes, numerous power outages from falling trees and downed lines, cancelled flights, transit delays and school closures.

Officials were forced to close the CN Tower due to falling ice from the structure.

Here are some totals from the spring storm as of 16 April at 2pm EDT:

• Toronto Pearson Airport – 18 hours of ice pellets, 6 hours of freezing rain, 12 cm ice pellets.
• Toronto Billy Bishop Airport – Peak wind gust of 96km/h
• London – 14 hours of freezing rain with ice pellets
• Windsor – 6 hours of freezing rain
• Hamilton – 11 hours of ice pellets, 6 hours of freezing rain and ice pellets, 8 hours of freezing rain
• Ottawa – 9 hours of freezing rain Sunday, 6 hours of freezing rain Monday, wind gusts to 70 km/h
• Montreal – 9 hours of freezing rain Saturday, 4 hours of freezing rain Sunday, 3 hours freezing rain Monday
• Quebec City – 5 hours of freezing rain Monday

(Data courtesy Environment Canada)