Latest news with #BrianProctor
Global News
2 days ago
- Climate
- Global News
New Brunswick wildfires: Miramichi blaze remains out of control as others appear
A massive wildfire near Miramichi, N.B., continues to be listed as out of control by provincial officials. The Oldfield Road Fire, which was first detected on Aug. 6, had grown to 1,358 hectares by Wednesday evening, a number which remained unchanged on Friday morning, according to Fire Watch, the province's monitoring website. The fire is one of 17 active fires throughout the province, including four that are said to be 'out of control.' In addition to the Oldfield Road Fire, the Pats Brook fire near Maple Glen, as well as the Green Brook and Smoker Brook fires near Newcastle Parish, were all deemed 'out of control.' Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The other three fires are relatively small, listed at .1 hectares in size, and all began on Wednesday, according to Fire Watch. There are six fires listed as 'being contained,' two of which are said to be 'under control,' while a further five are 'being patrolled.' Story continues below advertisement Officials said Thursday they were investigating whether 'multiple' fires had broken out overnight from lightning strikes. Brian Proctor, meteorologist with Environment Canada, said New Brunswick was hit with 10,477 lightning strikes overnight into Thursday. The majority struck in the northern half of the province, including in the Miramichi area, he said. 'We often do see lightning activity, but it was quite a severe day,' Proctor said. The largest out-of-control fire in the province was burning near Miramichi, and it has scorched nearly 14 square kilometres since Aug. 6. — With files from The Canadian Press
Vancouver Sun
2 days ago
- Climate
- Vancouver Sun
Those rainy days once the PNE starts? Just an 'urban myth' — and here are the stats to prove it
This year's Fair at the PNE kicks off on Saturday, and you know what that means? That's right, there's a 30 per cent chance of showers. The rainy day forecast on the fair's opening day has kicked up many well-worn jokes about how if there's rain on a summer day in Vancouver, the PNE must be on. But a closer look at Environment Canada data shows the fair's reputation for soggy weather is undeserved. Environment Canada meteorologist Brian Proctor crunched the data at Vancouver Harbour station in downtown Vancouver during fair days between 2014 and 2024 and found fairgoers were more likely to ride the coaster and eat mini-doughnuts while dry, rather than wet. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. The maximum number of rainy days is six, and that's happened four times over the last decade: In 2015, 2016, 2019, and 2024. The driest fair during this period was in 2017, when there was zero rainfall recorded. The next driest was in 2020, although few participants were able to enjoy the weather in its glory. That year, the first after COVID-19 hit, the fair was a drive-thru experience where people remained in their cars to maintain social distancing. The wettest fair happened in 2015, when 47.4 millilitres of rain fell over six days. Last year was another six-day event, when about 25.5 mm of rain fell, a lot of it on Saturday, Aug. 24, while a rainfall warning was in effect. Longtime PNE spokesman Laura Ballance said she's not surprised that data shows rainy days are not the norm. 'It's more of an urban myth than fact,' she said. 'I always joke and tell people it's not true, there's no basis for that. But this year it looks like we might get some rain. We'll see.' The fair operates rain or shine. The only time the Hastings Park fairgrounds were closed was in August 2015, when heavy rain and strong winds pummelled the region, causing widespread power outages and forcing the closure of Stanley Park. Ballance said there's still plenty of things to do in the fair, even if there are showers. 'Our benefit is we have a lot of our features indoors — in the Coliseum, the Astrodome, the Forum building, the livestock barns. We have quite a bit of covered space that provides us both sun cover and rain cover.' For some, rainy days at the fair is one of the city's best kept secrets as the rain keeps the crowds away. But it's undeniable that many of the fair's activities and participants' best memories and traditions are best in dry conditions, so organizers are keeping their fingers crossed for sunny days this season. 'We are a 15-day event in a 17-day window,' said Ballance, as the fair is closed on the first two Mondays. 'We do budget for rainy days within that. We cross our fingers and hope they are not on key days because rain does affect attendance.' Environment Canada said the rain is expected to start Friday night in Metro Vancouver, but ease up a bit on Saturday. 'I don't think it'll be a continuously rainy kind of day,' said Proctor, adding there's even a possibility of a bit of sun amid the on-and-off-again showers. Rainfall during The Fair at the PNE, 2014-2024 2014: 2 days of rain, 6.2 mm 2015: 6 days of rain, 47.4 mm 2016: 6 days of rain, 20.7 mm 2017: 0 days of rain 2018: 3 days of rain, 3 mm 2019: 6 days of rain, 16.7 mm 2020: 1 day of rain, 0.9 mm 2021: 5 days of rain, 23.9 mm 2022: 2 days of rain, 6.1 mm 2023: 4 days of rain, 28.6 mm 2024: 6 days of rain, 25.5 mm chchan@
Global News
5 days ago
- Climate
- Global News
Drought fuels East Coast wildfires while also drying up farmers' crops and wells
An East Coast drought that's fuelling wildfires is also drying up farmers' fields, and has homeowners scrambling to refill empty wells. Nova Scotia, eastern Newfoundland, southeastern New Brunswick and portions of Prince Edward Island shifted into moderate to severe drought conditions over the past month, says an Agriculture Canada update released Tuesday. Rainfall has plummeted to roughly 60 per cent of normal levels in Halifax, with 270 millimetres falling from April to the end of July, compared to average levels of 460 mm for the same period, the federal agency says. In Newfoundland and Labrador, where wildfire smoke is swirling within sight of the capital St. John's, rainfall over the same period is down about one-third from normal levels. 'It looks to be one of the driest Augusts on record (to date) … preceded by one of the driest months of July to date,' Environment Canada forecaster Brian Proctor said in a recent interview. Story continues below advertisement Trevor Hadwen, a specialist with Agriculture Canada, said that while the drought conditions aren't unprecedented in the Atlantic region, 2025 has been an 'abnormally dry' year. 'The drought in some regions has come on strong and we're seeing some pretty severe impacts from the drought, such as water supply losses and shortages and drying up of surface water supplies,' he said Monday. Farmers in Nova Scotia are describing the water shortages as the most severe in recent memory. Jordan Eyamie, the manager of Webster Farms Ltd. in Cambridge, N.S., says she and her field staff are fatigued from 12-hour days spent hauling irrigation gear onto strawberry, raspberry, bean and rhubarb fields. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The beans aren't growing to normal size, while it's a struggle to keep the berries and rhubarb from withering, she said in a recent interview. Some wells are drained to the point where she wonders if they'll last through the summer. 'Our yields are certainly going to be down … and everyone is exhausted trying to keep the irrigation systems going due to the lack of rain, and it doesn't seem like there's any hope in sight.' Proctor said the forecast calls for only light precipitation in the region by Friday, adding, 'at this point it's probably best to anticipate continuing warm and dry conditions across Atlantic Canada.' Story continues below advertisement As of Tuesday morning, five of Newfoundland and Labrador's active wildfires were considered out of control, while two out-of-control fires were burning In New Brunswick. Both New Brunswick and Nova Scotia have banned activities like hiking and fishing in forested areas. Josh Oulton, co-owner of TapRoot Farms in Windsor, N.S., said in a recent interview that water is being pumped from his wells to irrigate crops but the 'apples are suffering badly.' The beets and carrots he planted earlier in the summer aren't growing. 'Everything is just barely holding on. At the same time the prices from suppliers are going up … and we're slowly dying,' he said. As the hot, dry days continue, some rural residents are scrambling to ensure their wells are kept full. In Nova Scotia, about 42 per cent of residents are on private well water. Garth Higgins, owner of Water Unlimited — a water delivery firm in eastern Nova Scotia — said he's seeing the highest demand for his services since he began operating 19 years ago. The 54-year-old resident of Cooks Brook, N.S., recalls that there was a dry season late in the summer in 2016, but it wasn't as severe. When reached on Monday morning, he had a list of 33 deliveries booked and orders coming in every few minutes. 'There are people calling me daily, saying my well just ran out — it just ran out,' he said in an interview. 'It means no running water in the house. No baths, no showers, no flushing toilets.' Story continues below advertisement Higgins said the shortages are mostly happening in smaller communities, which aren't able to access the reservoirs serving cities. The Halifax Regional Municipality has voluntary water conservation measures in effect, but many smaller, rural towns in northern Nova Scotia and the Annapolis Valley have brought in mandatory limits as their reservoirs run low. Jennifer MacNeil, a spokeswoman for New Brunswick's Environment Department, said stream flows at sites in the northeast, southeast and along the Fundy Coast are at 'all time lows.' Groundwater levels at eastern and southeastern monitoring sites 'are well below normal.' 'With no significant precipitation in the near-term forecast, water resource conditions are expected to continue to gradually decline. A slow and steady rainfall over several days is needed to improve water levels,' said MacNeil. Gordon Check, a hydrogeologist with Nova Scotia's Environment Department, said in an interview Monday there is a cycle in groundwater, where levels rise in autumn and winter but drop in summer. However, he said that this summer the levels have fallen to their lowest annual point earlier than usual. 'Where last year the lows may have occurred more towards August and September, this year they're about a month earlier,' he said.
