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Ontario Weather Review - June 2008

The long-awaited summer has returned - and possibly a little too much, too soon for some areas.

With the return of summer came thunderstorms - and very high rainfall totals in some areas. Several locations reported record-breaking rainfall this month, with one site eclipsing a mark that was previously established in 1944.

Single-day rainfall accumulations of 30 to 40 millimetres were reported in numerous locations throughout the province. Thunder Bay had quite a storm on June 6, with close to 80 millimetres recorded at various locations in the community. This amount almost equaled the Thunder Bay average monthly total of 85 millimetres.

Temperatures, meanwhile, have finally reached and stayed near normal values, with only Windsor reporting a monthly temperature just a bit over two degrees above normal.. The rest of Southern and Central Ontario were within two degrees above normal and North and Northwestern Ontario reported values within one degree below normal.

Severe Weather

...Mother Nature makes up for lost time...

After a slow start to the summer severe weather season, things kicked into high gear this month with numerous reports of damaging winds, hail, torrential rains, funnel clouds and tornadoes. The third tornado of the season was confirmed on June 6, in the community of Echo Bay to the east of Sault Ste. Marie. Based on the damage done, this tornado was rated Fujita Scale Zero (peak winds to 110 kilometres per hour), which is the lowest on the scale. The Fujita Scale goes up to F5.

The first heat wave of the season hit Southern Ontario from June 6-9, with many locations climbing into the low 30s temperature-wise and humidex readings in the low 40s. All of that heat and humidity helped to fuel a series of powerful thunderstorms that moved through the region on June 8. Two more tornadoes were confirmed as occurring that day. The first occurred to the northwest of London near the small community of Clandeboye, which was rated as a Fujita Scale 1 tornado (peak winds 120 to 170 kilometres per hour). The second struck some 30 kilometres east of Sarnia on Highway 402 and was rated as an F0.

In the wake of all of the heat and humidity, the following weeks were more seasonal temperature-wise, but nonetheless quite active weather-wise. An unsettled weather pattern remained entrenched over the province for much of the month, generating numerous pop-up showers and thunderstorms. Some of these thunderstorms caused torrential rains, hail, damaging winds and funnel clouds. The most noteworthy hail event occurred in the Chatham-Kent area late on June 9, with many reports of golf ball-sized hail causing damage to vehicles.

June 22 and 23 were particularly noteworthy for the number of funnel cloud reports received from Southwestern and South Central Ontario. The sixth tornado of the year was confirmed as occurring just to the north of London on June 22 in the Bryanston area and was rated as an F0. Environment Canada continues to investigate other possible tornadoes from these two days.

The holiday weekend that rounded out the month was a wet one for many parts of Northern Ontario. A large and slow-moving disturbance that tracked through the North from late Friday until early Sunday left some regions with copious amounts of rain. Places that received the highest amounts included Cameron Falls, located south of Lake Nipigon, where almost 75 millimetres fell; Marathon, along the north shore of Lake Superior, where 82 millimetres was recorded; and Nagagami, west of Hearst, where 65 millimetres fell.

Unusual temperature readings:

Record precipitation (in millimetres):

Unusual precipitation readings (in millimetres):

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