Weather stories

In October 1954 Hurricane Hazel passed through Southern Ontario. I was a high school student waiting to be picked up for my first dance. We lived in a valley and the water on the other side of the raised road rose dramatically, and then spilled over the long embankment in a Niagara-like rush. To my alarm the waters, trapped in the valley, then rose on our side and engulfed the road. Our house stood at road level, and the barn behind, and lower, contained 5,000 day old chicks.

I did not get to the dance, which was cancelled anyway. Phone lines were down, so were roads and bridges, and my date lived many miles and bridges away. The lights kept burning, however. A good thing, as those tiny chicks depended on heat lamps. 81 people died that night, but miraculously neither our house nor the barn sustained any damage and the chicks remained dry.

Queensville, Ontario, Canada 1954
Submitted online by Jane Smith, January 26, 2004