Fires, floods, smoke and wind: Canada’s most intense weather events in 2021

It was a big year for big weather — and many of the events were connected, in one way or another.

When looking back on the year, there are bouts of extreme weather that stand out in our minds. For almost every part of Canada, 2021 was one of those years — to say the least.

2021 was bookended by windstorms in the west and folks across the country saw plenty of flooding, smoke, drought, and wildfires in between.

“Not in 26 years… has there been anything comparable to this year, where Canadians endured such a stream of weather extremes,” Environment Canada wrote in their summary of the year’s weather.

“There was no new types of weather this year – our grandparents coped with the same rain, heat, floods, fires and drought. But the extremes were of a different nature than in the past. They were more widespread, intense, frequent and impactful.”

We asked Global News’ Chief Meteorologist Anthony Farnell to tell us what made these weather events so unique, or what really stood out while he was analyzing them.

High winds and hail pummelled regions south and east of Calgary, from High River to Brooks, in early June, leaving trees toppled, branches strewn, and at least one person pinned beneath a fallen tree.

A tornado touched down near the town of High River for about 10 minutes that weekend. Luckily, no one was hurt.

In late June, temperatures in Western Canada skyrocketed under a heat dome, sending temperatures to torrid heights, and making it the hottest week in Canadian history.