One of the hundred lightning strikes that lit the sky last night in the Montreal region.

One of the hundred lightning strikes that lit the sky last night in the Montreal region.
Photo Credit: CBC

Weather woes of summer 2015

Weather made headlines in several places across Canada today. There was the monster tornado in Manitoba last night, the thunder and lightning in Montreal, Toronto is registering the hottest day of the summer, and the east coast has had only glimpses of summer.

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This summer of 2015 has produced some unusual weather events. Dave Phillips, Senior Climatologist with Environment Canada, said he was “shook up” by the length of time the tornado stayed on the ground in Manitoba. He says normally they “hop, skip and jump across the countryside and you can measure them in seconds or minutes as they touch, this one, we think, was on the ground for two and a half to three hours”. And “miraculosly” he says, there have been no reports of injuries or death.

Each year lightning kills approximately 10 Canadians and injures approximately 100 to 150 others

In Montreal, however, a 32 year-old cyclist is in critical condition after being struck by lightning last night. The man was cycling home as an electrical storm increased in intensity. He was struck in the head and was in full cardiac arrest when an emergency crew came to his aid. André Cantin, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, said the storm was the result of an “unstable air mass” during that period, and there were over 100 lightning strikes between 6 and 9 p.m. Each year lightning kills approximately 10 Canadians and injures approximately 100 to 150 others, according to Environment Canada.

The wildfires that burned and spread in western Canada, bringing thick smoke into the city of Vancouver, were aided by the lack of rain in that region. The rain has returned to the areas now but another dry spell is forecast.

“If it isn’t raining, it’s looking like rain… they even had a frost warning last weekend”

Meanwhile on the east coast, it has been an endless spring with cold and wet weather that’s wreaking havoc in some places. St. John’s airport in Newfoundland has been enduring aviation chaos with so many grounded flights due to bad weather and fog. It has taken some people days to be able to board a flight and leave. Dave Phillips says “they’ve had one of the most miserable summers on record”.  He says, “If it isn’t raining, it’s looking like rain… they even had a frost warning last weekend!”

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