Manitoba's Thanksgiving snowstorm lands at No. 3 on 2019 weather stories list

An early October snowstorm that tore down trees, knocked out power and brought much of southern Manitoba to a standstill features prominently on the list of top weather stories compiled by Environment Canada's chief meteorologist.

David Phillipsranked the Thanksgiving weekend storm at No. 3 on his annual list, lumping it in with a snowy dump that hit Calgary two weeks earlier. The early Prairie snowstorms were topped only by spring flooding of the Ottawa River and an active hurricane season on the Atlantic coast.

"[There's]never a shortage of weird, wild and wacky weather, particularly on the Prairies," Phillips said Wednesday.

"I could probably do a list of just Manitoba stories."

Beyond the immediate impacts, Phillips said October's "monster" snowstorm was noteworthy for its long-term effects on the region.

Winnipeg's tree canopy was devastated, thousands of Manitobans lost Hydro service for days and many agricultural producers had to suspend harvest operations.

"Clearly it was a big hit for farmers they still have acres of crops they can't harvest, mainly because of the very wet conditions," he said.

"It was a real big economic hit and one that has long impacts for years to come."

Manitoba's agricultural industrywas also impacted by story No. 6 on Phillips's list the generally unfavourable growing conditions faced by producers on the Prairies.

"It was the driest January to June on record in Winnipeg and then you ended up with the wettest fall on record," he said.

"It was really a big blow to the farming community and rural areas. Not many people were not touched by this particular difficult growing season on the Prairies this year."

With extremes in weather becoming more common in recent years, Phillips said he's had a hard time narrowing down his annual list to just 10 big stories each year.

"It's almost as if normal doesn't happen any more," he said.

"It's almost as if the climate was wobbling all over the place."

David Phillips's top 10 weather headlines of 2019

1. Another record-setting Ottawa River flood.
2. Active hurricane season as predicted.
3. sNo-good Prairie fall.
4. A brutal Febrrruary in Canada.
5. Record heat continues in the Arctic.
6. On the Prairies too dry early, too wet later.
7. Weather witch stole Halloween.
8. Spring missing in the East.
9. Saint John River floods again.
10. Fewer fires, more burning.