From blizzards to scorchers, floods to frost and a bummer of a summer to walloping winter storms, the weather gave Canadians much to gripe about this year.
"The weather is never dull in this country," said Environment Canada's Dave Phillips, who released his Top 10 weather stories for 2004 today. "Weather is our passion."
Beating 78 legitimate contenders for the No. 1 spot was the incredible downpour and hailstorm on July 11, that for a spell gave summertime Edmonton a magical winter-wonderland appearance.
"The hail was about golf-ball sized," said Debbie McIntyre, a cyclist caught in the storm. "There was some that was baseball-sized."
About 15 centimetres of rain then drenched the city in barely an hour, causing widespread flooding. Shoppers at West Edmonton Mall, the country's largest shopping centre, were forced to wade for the exits as security people ordered them out.
Another deluge, caused by the same weather system, hit halfway across the country, in Peterborough, Ont., and ranks No. 4 on the Top 10 list. On July 15, as much as 24 centimetres of rain fell on the city, sparking a damaging flood and a mammoth cleanup effort.
Although Mr. Phillips prefers to talk about "weather events" rather than climate change, he said the flooding may be a harbinger of things to come as urban areas continue to pave over the land. "In many ways, cities are dangerous places to live in, not just because of people and what they're doing to each other.
"Now, as soon as that drop of rain falls, it becomes instant runoff. Are we just paving over the surfaces and not recognizing the impact that will have from these rainstorms?"
No Top 10 Canadian list would be complete without its share of snow stories. In second place, White Juan, the hurricane disguised as a blizzard, lashed the Maritimes on Feb. 19, with winds of 124 kilometres an hour.
"I feel like I'm in one of those end-of-world movies where you wake up to discover you're the only one left," a hapless pedestrian in Halifax said. The city ended up under almost a metre of snow, the biggest snowfall in its recorded history.
Snow again put Nova Scotia on the list -- two seasons later -- when a record 62 centimetres smothered the province from Nov. 13 to 14.
But the old conversation starter, "Cold enough for you?" took on new meaning in January, as much of the country shivered through a particularly frigid spell.
Helping lift the month into the No. 6 spot was Key Lake, Sask., which on Jan. 29 recorded the lowest temperature on Earth that day at -52.6 -- colder than Antarctica, colder than Siberia, colder than Mars that night.
"Our reputation as a winter people has been maintained," Mr. Phillips said.
Five months later, on June 21, Osoyoos, B.C., sweltered under 40.5-degree sunshine, amid months of unusually dry weather that embraced the province and the Yukon.
Even as the June heat wave suffocated the territory, much of the rest of Canada was dragging through a bummer of a summer, the No. 3 story.
Mercifully, the cool weather all but eliminated the mosquito-borne West Nile virus as a threat.
Top 10 list
1. Rain and hail: Alberta's worst storm on record swamps Edmonton on July 11 with 15 centimetres of rain and hail in an hour.
2. White Juan: A blizzard with winds of 124 kilometres an hour blankets Halifax under almost a metre of snow on Feb. 19.
3. Summer's cold shoulder: Cool, wet weather plagues would-be sun-worshippers across almost the entire country.
4. Rain: Torrential downpour drenches Peterborough, Ont., with as much as 24 centimetres on July 15.
5. Heat: Osoyoos, B.C., hits 40.5 on June 21, amid months of dry weather in B.C. and Yukon.
6. Cold: January's deep freeze locked the entire country in frigid Arctic air. On Jan. 29, Key Lake, Sask., was the coldest place on Earth, at -52.6.
7. $1-billion frost: Killer cold destroys crops in Saskatchewan and Manitoba on Aug. 20.
8. Snow: Record early snowfall, from Nov. 13 to 14, buries much of Nova Scotia under as much as 62 centimetres, knocking out power to 110,000 people.
9. More snow: Wet snow smothers the Prairies on May 11, with almost a half-metre in spots.
10. Summer chill: West Nile worries ease. The cool summer across much of Canada all but eradicates the West Nile virus threat.