Is Windsor becoming the monsoon capital of Canada?
It was a question posed by Senior Climatologist at Environment Canada David Phillips who is visiting Windsor to talk all things weather-related in Windsor lately.
Speaking at Holy Names High School Tuesday morning, he pointed out in the last 12-15 years, rainfall amounts have increased an average of 23%.
He says it may not rain more often, but when it does, it rains harder.
"I think it was 2011, was the total rainfall that was 30% higher than the previous record," he says. "I get excited by breaking a record by a tenth of a millimeter."
But he says there have been huge impacts on local residents.
"The single weather event that caused more damage per property in Canada last year was the rainfall that occurred in Windsor in August. We know that it is costing people dearly."
Phillips was a guest of the University of Windsor's Faculty of Science and spoke to a crowd in Walkerville Monday night.
Phillips says people don't have to look in the history books with two 100-year storms in the area in about one year; in September 2016 and August 2017.