After the lake-effect engine finally shut off this month, polar-orbiting satellites captured breathtaking images of the paralyzing snow bands over 700 kilometres above Earth’s surface.
The beautiful views you’ll see as you cross down are courtesy of satellites designed to showcase the beauty and power of Canada’s most extreme snowstorms in high resolution. Meet Terra and Aqua– polar-orbiting satellites that circle Earth in lower orbits, making multiple passes daily.
Moreover, these satellites offer complementary perspectives: Terra captures morning images, while Aqua passes Canada during the afternoon. Below are five must-see satellite shots, which are remarkable examples of Canada’s snowiest storms in the past decade.
This multi-day lake-effect snowstorm unfolded across the Great Lakes, producing sharp snow with boundaries northeast of Sarnia, Ont.
Heavy lake effect snow was deposited downwind of the lakes, with consistent chilly winds allowing accumulations to soar to 140 cm in Gravenhurst, Ont.
The perfect alignment of wind direction combined with an early season Arctic air mass combined to create one of the most memorable lake-effect snow events in recent history.
SEE ALSO: A man accidentally discovered a strong tornado using Google Earth
Even by the Maritimes’ snowy standards, this storm was extraordinary. A stalling low-pressure system off the coast of Nova Scotia spiralled for days, toppling snow records.
84 cm of snow was recorded at Stanfield International Airport (YHZ), giving a record-breaking 96 cm of snowpack.
Over three days, Sydney, N.S., set an all-time snowfall record with 87 cm accumulated.
Although it narrowly missed the technical definition of a blizzard for most locations, this storm brought blizzard warnings for the Golden Horseshoe from Coburg to Niagara Falls.
Toronto received 55 cm of snow within just 15 hours on January 16-17.
Thundersnow was widely reported in the Niagara area with snowfall rates exceeding 10 cm per hour in the hardest-hit areas.
Toronto spent an astounding 20 per cent of the entire snow budget on this single storm.
SEE ALSO: Ontario lake-effect snow captured from space (tale of haves and have-nots)
On January 17th, 2020, St. John’s, Nfld., endured one of the snowiest days in Canadian history. The city was buried under 76.1 cm of snow in a single day.
St. John’s International Airport endured 18 consecutive hours of blizzard conditions, prompting a local state of emergency.
There was so much snow that even avalanches were reported within city limits.
On October 2, 2018, Calgary, Alta., recorded its snowiest day since 1981, with over 32 cm of snow—300% of the average snowfall for all of October.
Local accumulations exceeded 40 cm, which prompted the City of Edmonton to send 30 snowplows and 60 crew members to assist in the cleanup.
At one point, 80 buses were stranded on snow-clogged roadways during the height of the ferocious storm.
