By Canadian Press

Jasper wildfire, flooding, hail among top weather events of 2024: Environment Canada

Dec 10, 2024 | 12:42 PM

A wildfire that left a third of a popular Rocky Mountain tourist town in ashes, remnants of a hurricane season that led to record-breaking rainfall and a hailstorm that grounded airplanes are among the top weather-related events of 2024.

Environment and Climate Change Canada released Tuesday its annual top 10 list of the country’s most impactful weather stories.

The agency did not rank the stories.

In Alberta, a devastating wildfire hit Jasper National Park and the town of Jasper, making it one of the costliest events in the park’s history.

The July fire cut road access through the park and forced the townsite’s 5,000 residents, along with about 20,000 park visitors, to flee through smoke and falling ashes.

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Flames ended up scorching about 350 homes and businesses. Officials estimated $283 million in lost property value.

The Insurance Bureau of Canada has said the fire caused at least $880 million in insured damages, considered the ninth highest natural disaster insurance payout in Canadian history.

The fire not only devoured homes in the town but also scorched much of the natural landscape. Wildlife experts believe it could take more than a century for the burned forest to return to its postcard-perfect form.

To the east, Quebec, Ontario and Atlantic Canada bore the brunt of this year’s hurricane season.

Hurricane Beryl began forming in late June. Remnants of the deadly and destructive storm soaked parts of Ontario and Quebec.

Heavy rain also backed up sewers and flooded highway underpasses, garages and basements on the Island of Montreal.

Some areas in Atlantic Canada were hit in July with flash flooding and washed-out roads. A boy in Wolfville, N.S., was swept into a ditch and drowned.

In August, remnants of Hurricane Debby knocked out power to half a million residents in Quebec. Several parts of the province were hit with record-breaking rain that washed out roads and flooded basements.

About 300 people were evacuated from their homes while another 1,300 were stranded. A man in his 80s died after he was swept into the Batiscan River.

Environment and Climate Change Canada also listed as top weather events: a January deep freeze in Western Canada, a winter wallop in Cape Breton, and the contrast of Albertans shivering while those in the Maritimes sizzled in summer heat.

There was also notable flooding in southern Ontario, wildfires in western Labrador, an unusual heat wave in the Arctic and back-to-back atmospheric rivers in British Columbia.

In Calgary, an August storm brought significant hail, strong wind, heavy rain and localized flooding, affecting about one in five homes.

Hailstones as big as golf balls hammered the tarmac at Calgary International Airport, damaging WestJet and Flair Airlines planes and forcing the companies to ground 10 per cent of their fleet for repairs and inspections.

The Insurance Bureau of Canada estimates the damage to the city, deemed the country’s second-costliest weather-related disaster, at $2.8 billion.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 10, 2024.

Brittany Hobson, The Canadian Press