The year 2024 will go down in history as Canada’s most expensive year for weather disasters, with the cost of destruction topping an unprecedented $7.7 billion in insured damages from just four summer events.
Catastrophic floods, hailstorms, wildfires, and record-breaking heat left scars across the nation, claiming lives and forcing communities to reckon with the growing reality of climate change.
Environment Canada released their annual Top 10 Weather Stories report detailing how these events impacted Canadians coast-to-coast.
The stories paint a clear picture of weather is becoming fiercer, deadlier, and more expensive. This year’s list, compiled for the final time by retiring senior climatologist David Phillips, serves as both a sobering reminder of nature’s fury and a call to action.
“Climate change is here, now, and it’s reshaping the very fabric of Canadian life,” said Phillips, who has spent 56 years documenting the country’s evolving climate.
British Columbia found itself in the crosshairs of two devastating atmospheric river events—one in January and another in October—that delivered torrential rain, floods, and heartbreak.
The January storm, fuelled by a “Pineapple Express,” brought over 200 millimetres of rain to the South Coast, saturating soils, flooding farmlands, and closing highways. The October storm proved even deadlier, claiming five lives in Coquitlam and Bamfield.
Heavy rainfall inundated communities, triggered landslides, and caused ferry disruptions across Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland.
In total, Kennedy Lake on Vancouver Island recorded an astonishing 318 millimetres of rain during the October storm. Yet these events also alleviated drought conditions in parts of BC, highlighting their dual nature as both destructive and necessary to the province’s water cycle.
In October, extreme heavy rains resulted in the tragic deaths of two motorists in separate incidents, with their vehicles found submerged in the Sarita River near Port Alberni.
One victim’s body was recovered the same day they were reported missing, while the second man’s remains were discovered days later as rescuers waited for river levels to recede. The same storm also claimed the life of an elementary school teacher in Coquitlam.
In Calgary, a mid-summer hailstorm left residents reeling with $2.8 billion in damages, making it the costliest weather event of the year. Golf ball-sized hail tore through homes, vehicles, and businesses, underscoring Alberta’s vulnerability to extreme summer weather.
“This is no longer just a freak occurrence,” explained Phillips. “We’re seeing a pattern—our changing climate is making these events more frequent and more severe.”
See also: One dead, another presumed dead after Vancouver Island washout from heavy rains
Canada’s climate crisis was most vividly on display in its record-breaking heatwaves and wildfires. In July, temperatures soared in Western Canada, triggering a wildfire in Jasper, Alberta, that devastated 30% of the historic Rockies town. By summer’s end, Canada’s Arctic saw its second-lowest ice coverage on record.
“Extreme heat and dry conditions are a dangerous combination,” noted Environment Canada. “These fires are becoming harder to fight and more damaging to communities.”
Results from Canada’s Rapid Extreme Weather Event Attribution system confirmed that human-caused climate change made the Arctic’s heatwaves at least 10 times more likely.
From deadly urban flooding in Montreal to the harsh toll of cold snaps on homeless populations in Western Canada, the impacts of extreme weather ripple through every layer of society.
“This isn’t just a future problem—it’s a now problem,” said Phillips. “We must act to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt our communities to withstand the storms ahead.”
This year’s report also marks the end of an era with the retirement of David Phillips. For decades, he has been the face of Canadian meteorology, offering insights into the forces that shape our lives. As he transitions to an emeritus role, Environment and Climate Change Canada said they will carry forward his legacy, using advanced tools to better understand and attribute these extreme events.
These were Canada’s 10 most impactful weather stories of 2024:
- From heatwave to wildfires: Jasper’s summer inferno
- Central Canada bears the brunt of the 2024 hurricane season
- Western Canada plunged into January deep freeze
- Atmospheric rivers deliver double blow to British Columbia
- Billion-Dollar hailstones: Calgary’s costliest weather disaster
- Southern Ontario’s summer of floods
- Arctic communities face unusual heatwave
- Cape Breton’s winter wallop
- Summer split: Maritimes sizzle while Alberta shivers
- Wildfires and evacuations in western Labrador
Read more about each of the storms on Environment Canada.
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