Groundhogs grounded by namesake storms
While we watch a powerful winter storm make its way across Newfoundland and Labrador today, I thought we could look back at other infamous storms that made landfall on Groundhog Day.
On this day in 1976, the Great Groundhog Day Gale unleashed its fury on us. Here’s how it unfolded:
• On Jan. 28, a stationary upperlevel-low sat over the desert southwest of the United States.
• On Jan. 30, a Saskatchewan Screamer — similar to an Alberta Clipper, but originating as a frontal wave over Saskatchewan — moved east-southeast across Canada, luring the system in the United States eastward.
• The cyclones merged by Feb. 2, becoming a significant storm over New England, before lifting northward through Quebec into the Davis Strait.
The storm came without warning and caught many people by surprise; the Groundhog Day storm blew gale-force winds for over 18 hours. It was one of the fiercest Maritime storms to ever slam into Saint John, N.B. Winds were clocked at 188 kilometres per hour, generating 12-metre waves and swells as high as 10 metres. Everything was coated with salt spray for miles inland; huge chunks of coastline eroded.
Southwest Nova Scotia experienced coastal flooding of up to 1.6 metres deep that caused extensive damage to wharves, coastal buildings, boats and vessels. The storm’s hurricane-force winds, coupled with high-water levels, caused damage the likes of which many people had never seen before.
A more recent, but not nearly as destructive, Groundhog Day storm was in 2011. Conditions were ripe for a mammoth and powerful storm. A fierce Alberta Clipper led the charge, followed
by a large arctic high-pressure system that re-supplied the cold air for days. The meteorological concoction intensified and lumbered northeastward along a powerful mid-latitude jet stream.
It was the sixth major snowfall to hit New Brunswick that season. As a result, roofs collapsed under the weight of the heavy snow. In
Halifax, schools were closed, and events were rescheduled. Winds howled at 60 km/h and visibility was down to half a kilometre in whiteouts; shutting down air travel, disrupting traffic and forcing cancellations everywhere.
The storm's final blast in North America was felt in Clarenville and Bonavista, N.L. St. John's got 20 to 30 centimetres of snow over four days and winds buffeted Bonavista with gusts at
76 km/h.
If you lived through either or both of these storms, they undoubtedly left an impression. These wild weather events left something else behind — a legacy.
Part of the legacy of the Groundhog Day storm is the storm-surge warning program forecasters use today. Warnings are issued if water levels are expected to reach a certain threshold.
The 1993 movie Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray added a new meaning to Groundhog Day as something that repeats itself endlessly. I don't know about you, but I'd prefer these storms to be few and far between.