In the heart of another cold, snowy winter, Canadians know the warnings all too well.
The screen on the Weather Network goes bright red. Breathless text warns viewers of strong winds, weather bombs and even Snowmagedon.
They are triggered by severe weather warnings issued by Environment Canada and for those who sense the code reds are fairly common, a new report confirms those hunches.
An audit report by the Commissioner of the Environment found Environment Canada issues over 10,000 severe weather warnings, watches and statements every year.
The report also found the department doesn't really know how accurate they are.
“Environment Canada's systems and procedures do not adequately support the delivery of timely and accurate severe weather warnings to Canadians,” the commissioner's report concludes. “Although it currently delivers a large number of severe weather warnings, it lacks the information necessary to know the condition of its monitoring assets and whether the warnings are complete, timely or accurate. As a result, Environment Canada is unable to tell Canadians how well they are being served or what improvements are needed to effectively provide this service in the future.”
Further, the report raises concerns about the state of the department's weather monitoring equipment, noting that cutbacks have led to a backlog of old equipment in need of replacement.
Environment Canada's response, which is included in the audit report, argued that new systems are in place to keep track of equipment in need of repair. It also noted that while more can be done to measure the effectiveness of its weather warnings, a large system to verify the accuracy of its forecasts “would be expensive and likely not cost-effective.”
In a press conference, environment commissioner Scott Vaughan stressed that his report does not say the warnings are inaccurate, but that the department cannot confirm their accuracy.
He added that Environment Canada is “a world leader” when it comes to weather forecasting and he intends to follow up in the future to see how the department responded to the report.
