Record-setting Ontario storm drops more than a metre of snow
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Jordan Omstead
Publishing date:Nov 21, 2022 • 1 day ago • 1 minute read
Climate change could intensify lake-effect storms like the one that dumped a record-setting amount of snow on some communities in southern Ontario this weekend, an Environment Canada meteorologist said Monday.
More than a metre of snow blanketed parts of the Bruce Peninsula as arctic air descended over the Great Lakes and picked up the warmth and moisture of the unfrozen waters in what’s called a lake-effect snow event.
A key marker of a storm’s intensity is the temperature difference between the lake and arctic air. If lakes stay warmer longer into the fall, the first big outbreak of arctic air could produce stronger snow squalls, said Geoff Coulson, a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada.
“That is certainly something that could be possible over the course of the coming decades with warmer summers and warmer falls, resulting in warmer lake temperatures,” he said in an interview Monday.
“Certainly, I think it’s these earlier season lake-effect events that could see some signature from climate change going forward.”
The storm dumped around 120 centimetres on parts of the Bruce Peninsula in southwestern Ontario. On Sunday alone, about 53 centimetres of snow fell in Wiarton, Ont., breaking the area’s single-day snowfall record that has stood since 1982.
Ian Boddy, mayor of the nearby city of Owen Sound, said the storm stood out as one of the “big whoppers” to hit the area in recent memory.
He expected most streets to be cleared by the end of the day as snowplows worked through emergency routes and major thoroughfares, to secondary and back streets.
Boddy said by the time he finished shoveling his laneway yesterday, another three centimetres had fallen at the other end.
“It was really coming down,” he said.
Environment Canada warned Monday that the region, as well as hard-hit areas around Niagara and Kingston, could see wind gusting up to 80 kilometres an hour.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Jordan Omstead
Publishing date:Nov 21, 2022 • 1 day ago • 1 minute read
Climate change could intensify lake-effect storms like the one that dumped a record-setting amount of snow on some communities in southern Ontario this weekend, an Environment Canada meteorologist said Monday.
More than a metre of snow blanketed parts of the Bruce Peninsula as arctic air descended over the Great Lakes and picked up the warmth and moisture of the unfrozen waters in what’s called a lake-effect snow event.
A key marker of a storm’s intensity is the temperature difference between the lake and arctic air. If lakes stay warmer longer into the fall, the first big outbreak of arctic air could produce stronger snow squalls, said Geoff Coulson, a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada.
“That is certainly something that could be possible over the course of the coming decades with warmer summers and warmer falls, resulting in warmer lake temperatures,” he said in an interview Monday.
“Certainly, I think it’s these earlier season lake-effect events that could see some signature from climate change going forward.”
The storm dumped around 120 centimetres on parts of the Bruce Peninsula in southwestern Ontario. On Sunday alone, about 53 centimetres of snow fell in Wiarton, Ont., breaking the area’s single-day snowfall record that has stood since 1982.
Ian Boddy, mayor of the nearby city of Owen Sound, said the storm stood out as one of the “big whoppers” to hit the area in recent memory.
He expected most streets to be cleared by the end of the day as snowplows worked through emergency routes and major thoroughfares, to secondary and back streets.
Boddy said by the time he finished shoveling his laneway yesterday, another three centimetres had fallen at the other end.
“It was really coming down,” he said.
Environment Canada warned Monday that the region, as well as hard-hit areas around Niagara and Kingston, could see wind gusting up to 80 kilometres an hour.
Record-setting Ontario storm drops more than a metre of snow
Climate change could intensify lake-effect storms.
