By Andrew de Souza

Growing season wettest in 110 years

Dec 2, 2010 | 11:36 AM

The 2010 growing season was the wettest on record since 1899, says Environment Canada’s senior climatologist David Phillips.

“It seems we’re having greater variability—more swings, more wild cards … and that could very well be a connection to climate change,” said Phillips.

“The world seems to be more whacky and weird and everything’s all over the place. Nature’s confused and so are we.”

The months between April and September are considered the growing season. During that time this year, 536.2 mm or more than 21 inches fell — 67 per cent higher than the same time last year. Usually, rain falls on about 60 days each growing season—this year it fell on more than 75 days.

According to Phillips, only once was there more rainfall since the government began keeping data in the region in 1880. That record year was 1899 when about 573 mm or about 22 inches fell. Another notable year was 1954 when 501 mm or about 20 inches of rain fell.

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“If you go back, it’s the second wettest since more than (almost) a century and a quarter,” said Phillips.

“Or, if you’re just looking at modern records, it was the wettest. No one has ever seen a wetter summer or spring-summer-fall… than what we’ve seen this year.”

Phillips said the year was definitely an anomaly since the trend for the decade was a lack of rain.

“More of the talk in the 2000’s was about drought,” said Phillips. “It seemed in some places that there was a drought every year.”

“So there was some elation there in April and May when those rains were non-stop … but then it went from the drought to the flood.”

Phillips said even though this year was wet, it doesn’t mean that it’s the start of a trend towards higher precipitation. He said more weather on the extreme ends of deluge and drought would be more frequent.

But he added that average rainfall over the coming years would likely remain steady.

As for the coming winter months, Phillips said Environment Canada predicts weather a little colder and with a little more now than average.

adesouza@panow.com

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