Residents in eastern Ontario are still recovering after a tornado-producing thunderstorm left a path of destruction over 55 kilometres long and up to 1,400 metres wide in July.
The difference between severe and extreme Severe thunderstorms occur in Canada every year, bringing with them large hail, damaging downburst winds, intense rainfall and tornadoes. More rare and of even greater concern are extreme weather events — with their size, intensity or even time of year well beyond what is typically expected based on past observations.
How can we detect these trends? Such events and their impacts cannot be adequately assessed and documented using standard operational weather observation platforms such as radar and surface weather stations. The greater the length and better the quality of a national database of these events, the more likely it is that any severe and extreme storm trends will be detected.