Weather: 2008 – a year of heavy Ontario precipitation and unprecedented shrinking of Arctic ice

Records were broken for precipitation in many parts of Ontario. But perhaps most worrying is that Arctic ice is disappearing much faster than anticipated

by HENRY HENGEVELD

David Phillips, Environment Canada’s senior climatologist, has selected the heavy rains and snowfall of 2008 as the most significant weather story for Ontario for the year. 

That shouldn’t come as a big surprise to any of us. Pearson International Airport, for example, normally gets a total amount of about 793 millimetres of precipitation per year. Its previous record high, established in 1977, was 971 millimetres. This year, it reached 1,050 millimetres – 32 per cent higher than the average, and eight per cent above the previous record.

Better Farming - March 2009