Windsor's 2016 weather brought severe drought, tornadoes and mass flooding

From an early drought that had farmers begging for rain to massive flooding that led to a state of emergency, the Windsor region hada rough year of extreme weather conditions.

The drought

First came the drought with very little rain falling on the region between mid-May and early July. Precipitationduring this period was at about 28 per cent of normal levels, according to Environment Canada.

• Windsor's weather has been frighteningly dry

The drought that marked the first half of summer ended shortly after Canada Day. After that, abouteight to 10 per centmore rain than normal hit the region for July, August and September.

The heat waves

Several heat waves hit the region this summer with an estimated 31days of temperatures above 30 C.

• Windsor braces for summer's longest heat wave

Overall temperatures forJune, July, August and September were all warmer than normal.

The tornadoes

Two tornadoes touched down in LaSalle and Windsor in late August, damaging homes, destroying some businesses and wreaking havoc on gas lines and roads inboth communities.

• Tornadoes touch down in LaSalle, Ont. and Windsor

The tornado in LaSalle came inland off the Detroit River and lasted only minutes.Severe weather experts saythe second tornado that struck Windsor could have reached speeds of up to 210 km/h.

The floods

Mayors in Windsor and Tecumseh,Ont., declared a state of emergency for their communities after record rainfall led to massive flooding that created more than $100 million in insurance claims.

• Windsor and Tecumseh rainfall one of Canada's top weather stories

The floods earned Windsor andTecumseha place on a list of Canada's top weather stories for 2016.

Windsor flooding drone video

8 years ago

Duration 0:44

Flooding leads to state of emergency in Windsor, Tecumseh, Ont.