We are no strangers to the wild weather during the transition from one season to the next, and last week was no exception. Heavy snow covered parts of the west, although the summer heat shot up in the east. This week’s storms treated the Greater Toronto Area with a dazzling display of rippling clouds, and another round of storms even produced a possible tornado. Check out Canada’s fast-paced extreme weather week below.
PHOTOS: Severe storms devastate Ontario and Quebec
SOME AREAS SAW UP TO 30 CM OF SNOW
This June, no doubt, begins with a different start than what the West saw a year ago. Last year’s scorching heat seems like a distant memory compared to the off-season air that has gripped western Canada in recent weeks.
A low-pressure system meandering through the western half of the country blocked below-season temperatures in parts of British Columbia and Alberta. This cooler climate is not only impressive in itself (Comox had not yet reached 20 ° C as of June 15!), But it also caused a lot of snow at higher altitudes inland.
The snow in the mountains in June is by no means unheard of, but the recent snowfall was a bit uneven by most standards. Parts of the Southern Rockies saw up to 30 cm of snow between June 13 and 14.
IN THE EAST, THE HEAT IS ACTIVATED
One end breeds another, and people in the eastern half of the country face constant gusts of steamy air from the south of the border.
Toasted daytime temperatures up to the 1930s have occasionally bathed parts of Ontario and Quebec in recent days. Sarnia achieved the distinction as a Canadian hot spot on Wednesday, June 15, with a high temperature of almost 35 ° C. Humidex stocks rose in the 1940s that afternoon.
The same top-level wavy pattern that brought stubbornly cool temperatures to the west is responsible for repeated summer store intrusions to the east.
Not only have persistent heat waves dragging much of the United States moving north along the border, but the high-pressure ridges responsible for that heat also act as a monorail carrying powerful storms to Canada.
LOOKING: A STORMY CORNER CORNERS THE ROOF OF A BUILDING IN ONTARIO
POWERFUL STORMS CHOOSE SOUTHERN ONTARIO AND QUEBEC
Thursday ended with an explosion in the southern sections of Ontario and Quebec, as a dynamic storm system swept the area.
People from across the region spent Thursday tuning in to tornado clocks and warnings as powerful storms stretched from the Greater Toronto Area north to Quebec City.
The storms took advantage of a mass of soup air to produce torrential showers, damaging gusts of wind, heavy hail and possibly even a couple of tornadoes.
A particularly severe storm hit Belleville, Ontario, causing damage to the area. Winds grew strong enough there to knock down trees and power lines, and several buildings were damaged when the roof of a building was torn down and damaged a neighboring building.
Investigators of the Western University’s northern tornado project will spend Friday examining the damage to see if Thursday’s storms produced tornadoes.
WILD CLOUDS COVER THE LARGE AREA OF TORONTO
Some of the storms this week, however, were more of a bark than a bite. One of these storm clusters descended across southern Ontario on the morning of June 15, reaching the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) with a truly stunning display of asperite clouds.
LOOK AT IT: Spectacular “wave” clouds develop over parts of the GTA
These otherworldly clouds form when warm, saturated air flows upward and over a layer of cooler, more stable air on the surface. This translates into a sky full of wavy, wavy clouds that look like you’re looking at a choppy sea from beneath the waves.
NO SIGNS OF DOWNHILL
You may have to wait a while if you are looking for a break from active time.
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Storms will continue in the prairies until Father’s Day weekend, with the possibility of severe storms occurring every day until Sunday.
Warm temperatures and high humidity will once again creep into Ontario and Quebec next week, with chances of more storms that could thrive in woody, unstable air. Rainfall conditions will even spread to parts of the east coast next week.
Then, of course, we will have to turn our eyes to the tropics, as the hurricane season will begin to heat up slowly as we move into July. Meteorologists are once again expecting an above-average Atlantic hurricane season this year.