Canadian tropical cyclone season summaries
Summaries of past tropical cyclone seasons in Canada that include information about various storms, their paths and locations, as well as their impacts.
Tropical cyclone season summary 2024
Three storms of tropical origin affected Canadian territory during the 2024 tropical cyclone season. They produced minimal wind impacts but significant rainfall for the regions of Quebec and Ontario. Hurricane Beryl formed on June 28 and was deemed a Category-5 by July 2. It quickly began setting records as the earliest storm of such intensity seen in the Atlantic Ocean region and the farthest-east. Beryl made landfall near Houston, Texas and then tracked northeastward through the continental U.S where it transformed into a post-tropical low-pressure system. On July 10, torrential rains related to the remnants of Beryl brought plenty of urban flooding to southern Ontario and Quebec. Totals of 50 to 100 mm of rain fell over the span of about 6 hours.
Debby struck Florida in early August as a Category-1 Hurricane then made a second landfall in South Carolina bringing very heavy rainfall. Debby underwent transition to a post-tropical storm as it tracked across the Appalachian Mountains, and then eventually into southern Quebec where substantial amounts of rain fell causing significant flooding in Montreal. The worst hit areas were western Montreal/Dorval with 160 mm and 221 mm northeast of Montreal in Lanoraie. Severe flash flooding in the Mauricie region north of Trois-Rivieres led to a tragic death in the area. A brief period of gusty winds also occurred with Debby over southern Quebec resulting in some power outages.
Hurricane Ernesto produced large waves that reached coastal Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador in mid-August after striking Bermuda. Ernesto tracked south of the Avalon Peninsula as a hurricane then became a post-tropical low-pressure system as it crossed the Grand Banks. Large waves reached the coast of southeast Newfoundland and Labrador and the offshore oil region on the Grand Banks and there was a brief period of heavy rain that fell over the Avalon Peninsula. Rainfall between 40 and 75 mm was recorded from a combination of Ernesto and a prior weather system. The remainder of the hurricane season was active but only in the deeper tropics with no impacts in Canada.
Tropical cyclone season summary 2023
Five storms of tropical origin affected Canadian territory during the 2023 tropical cyclone season. The season started with an extremely rare unnamed subtropical storm in mid-January that made landfall near Louisbourg, Nova Scotia.
The storm that produced the most significant impacts during the 2023 tropical cyclone season was Hurricane Lee. Lee made landfall in western Nova Scotia shortly after completing extratropical transition on September 16th. Damage to utility lines and coastal infrastructure was significant. Lee marks the fifth consecutive year that a high impact storm of tropical origin made landfall in Atlantic Canada.
Hurricanes Franklin and Don caused minimal impact to Canadian territory but produced strong winds and high sea states to the Grand Banks. Post-Tropical Storm Philippe tracked northwestward near Yarmouth, Nova Scotia on October 8th. The storm produced strong winds and large waves in western Nova Scotia and southwestern New Brunswick. Philippe affected many of the same areas impacted by Lee but had produced significantly less damage.
Detailed summaries and earlier seasons
For a more detailed version of the summaries above or for any year in the Canadian Hurricane Centre archives, please contact: sommccpo-chcsumm@ec.gc.ca
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