Environment
2008 Record Summer Rain
Photo: StarbuckGuy's photostream
Last night's storm brought the City closer to a new record high summer rainfall. We're now certain to surge past the 28-year old record of 1980 with rain in the forecast through to the weekend.
The previous record for the months of June and July was 271.5 mm. Surpassing this level, we are well above average rainfall levels for the region (last year over the whole summer we had 88 mm). Interestingly, back in 1980 a good chunk of the rainfall was in the last week of July!
City infrastructure is struggling to handle the heavy volumes of storm water runoff. Storms at a level causing flooding apparently only happens about once every two years, but this year has hit five times. The severe thunderstorm on Tuesday night brought several traffic accidents, knocked out signal lights and caused flooding in the downtown and York areas. Surely there are going to be more reports of flood basements.
Gardeners are probably loving the contrast to last year's dry summer, with the City looking green as ever. Funny, last weekend while visiting my grandma outside of London (Ontario), she was complaining about how dry it has been lately, in a backdrop of browning lawns.
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Perhaps they were priming the sewers?
Are we not allowed a summer?
Like Shelagh said, it's the sudden variations (i don't want to call them extreme, i'm sure that will come sooner or later) that are annoying.
The summer following the eruption, we had 19 out of 20 weekends with precipitation. That was the barbecue and gardening and golfing season ruined for all and sundry.
I could have told you that. And I would have been right. 10+ years of playing ball, never had a schedule so messed up.