'We just shattered our records': Severe weather rumbled through Manitoba in 2016

From tornadoes to hail and thunderstorms, Manitoba saw a record number of severe weather events in 2016.

"We just shattered our records as far as total number of severe weather events this past summer," said Mike McDonald, a meteorologist with Environment Canada.

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Manitoba had 240 reported severe weather events in 2016 compared to 131 in 2015.

There were 147 confirmed reports of severe hail, 55 cases of severe wind, 20 extreme rainfalls and 18 tornadoes.

"Obviously this was a record year," McDonald said.

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To qualify as a severe weather event, a situation must meet a set of criteria established by Environment Canada.

For hail, there must be a diameter of 20 millimetres or greater, wind must have speeds reaching 90 kilometres an hour or higher, the mark for rainfall is 50 millimetres in one hour or less and a tornado needs to touch down to be classified as a severe event.

Social media reports on the rise

McDonald points to two main reasons for the dramatic increase in events this summer: heavy moisture and heat.

"The heat and humidity is the two prime ingredients you need for severe thunderstorms."

Then there's social media.

"We're getting a lot more reports than we ever received before," McDonald said.

"People are out there with their cellphone cameras and posting them on Twitter, so we're getting real-time information with accurate measurements of say the hailstorms or tornadoes that are out there."

'Feeling of awe': storm chaser

ScottKehlerhas been chasing storms and other severe weather for a decade in Manitoba.

He said 2016 was one of the better years for him as a storm chaser.

"It's a feeling of awe and excitement to see such a rare weather phenomena going on right in front of our eyes and not that far from home," Kehler said.

McDonald said it was an especially unusual year for Manitoba with tornadoes 18 were confirmed to touch down in 2016.

"All the ingredients for tornadoes were prevalent more often last summer than other summers."

McDonald said while Environment Canada can predict storms and track tornadoes on satellite radar, it can't verify one has touched down until seeing photos something social media now brings right to meteorologists' fingertips.

"Years past there's probably a lot more hail events that occurred, we just never heard about them," he said.

2017 could have more severe weather in store

McDonald added that severe weather in some rural areas is now being brought to the attention of Environment Canada as storm chasers and rural residents make posts with evidence of severe storms.

This winter's heaps of snow could make for severe weather when it melts, McDonald warns.

When you add heat, you've got the recipe for the perfect storm.

Take a look at 10 of 2016's most extreme weather events.