Why you're seeing more lightning in Nova Scotia skies this summer
CBC
Nova Scotia saw the most lightning ever recorded in the month of July, and almost all of it came from a single weather event.
The latest climate report from Environment Canada shows 26,194 lightning strikes were recorded in Nova Scotia in July.
A massive, lingering storm sparked 23,008 of those strikes between July 21 and 22 when record rainfall led to the deaths of four people and brought historic flooding to the province.
The average number of July lightning strikes in the province is 7,172.
"Everyone knows how exceptional that [storm] was in terms of rainfall, but definitely exceptional in terms of the lightning as well," said Ian Hubbard, a meteorologist with Environment Canada.
"It set a new record for the month of July and it actually set it just in that two-day period."
Hubbard notes the data only covers cloud-to-ground lightning strikes. Lightning that doesn't reach the surface, or cloud-to-cloud strikes, are not included.
Partial Environment Canada statistics for this month show there have been 10,837 lightning strikes from Aug. 1-14.
Nova Scotia Power is also tracking a significant increase in lightning strikes, according to a spokesperson for the utility.
Between 2018 and 2022, there were 314 outages involving lightning. So far in 2023, there have been 959, more than three times the five-year average.
Although this season has been very active for thunderstorms in the province, Hubbard said that doesn't necessarily mean a rising trend over the past few years.
"When we do have an event, or a month like we just had in July, it really stands out to people because it is so exceptional," he said.
For example, in 2018 there were only 441 strikes detected in Nova Scotia for the month of July. The next year, it jumped to more than 9,500.
"We see a lot of fluctuating … just between one year to the next. There was a huge jump there but we're not able to look at these numbers and predict a trend," Hubbard said.
The Association of Yukon Fire Chiefs says about 80 per cent of volunteer firefighters in the territory are wearing expired protective equipment, putting them in danger and in violation of occupational health and safety regulations when they respond to emergencies.
Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault will be given a new portfolio in Mark Carney's cabinet, a source with knowledge of the decision told Radio-Canada.
The Alberta government has suspended a loan program at Picture Butte Feeder Cooperative, the province's largest cattle financing cooperative, after an inspection alleged a number of financial mismanagement and regulatory issues.
If you look up at the sky late, late Thursday in the Toronto area, there's a chance you'll be able to see a total lunar eclipse and what's called a blood moon.
When wintertime calls, go where it's warm.
Colby Leamon had lost a close family member, and was looking for a dog to provide emotional support.
The cost of a 24-pack of beer could increase $3 to $5 because of 25 per cent tariffs on aluminum exported to the United States, according to a craft brewery in northern Ontario.
Fire tore through a seafood processing plant in Cape John, N.S., on Wednesday night.
Another of New Brunswick's new municipal councils has become embroiled in drama and bitter conflict.
Tardiness is nothing new at Via Rail, but late arrivals are reaching historic levels in a key corridor since passenger trains have been forced to slow down at hundreds of rail crossings operated by CN Rail.
Walmart Canada will stop selling machetes — a type of weapon frequently used in violent crimes — in stores across the country, after Manitoba's government pressured the retailer to restrict online sales.
The parents of two 15-year-old girls at Evan Hardy Collegiate in Saskatoon say they went to police and the school multiple times between June and August 2024 with concerns about escalating online threats from the student now accused of setting one of the girls on fire in a school hallway.
After more than two years of developing an official plan, the City of Charlottetown is getting close to voting on adopting it. Some residents have concerns with higher density housing the plan could make way for, but others are welcoming it.