Nonfiction | Adult
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Canada is all about the weather – when it’s nice, we’re outside enjoying every second; when it’s snowy many of us do the same. When it’s something in between, well, we grumble. And when you live in a part of Canada with mountain passes that can have snow almost any month of the year, you really do lean into the weather forecast! I have two apps on my phone, and check both daily. One is the government forecast; the other is The Weather Network. When I had cable television, we indulged in weekend mornings with coffee watching Chris St. Clair. He has the knack of making you feel like he’s talking right to you, and if you ran into him on the street, you’d forget you don’t actually know him. (He’s on my list of guests for my imaginary dinner party!) Plus I’m a weather geek, thanks to a fascinating college course on meteorology, and of course, like all of us, deeply concerned about the future of our planet due to human-caused climate change. This book covers all the big stories of St. Clair’s career with the Weather Network, from the 1998 ice storm that paralyzed Quebec and eastern Ontario and collapsed the electricity grid to the devastating 2014 wildfire in Fort McMurray called The Beast that the entire world watched in heartbreak. There are 12 stories in all, including a couple of hurricanes in Florida (the winter home of so many eastern Canadians) and St. Clair offers a front-row analysis of each one, always delivered in his trademark relaxing and accessible “down-home” style. He explains the science behind each crisis and then presents the human face, talking about the people directly affected. I particularly enjoyed the behind-the-scenes information about broadcasting, including the Dejero unit, a fascinating bit of technology that permits live broadcasting without a big satellite truck. The final chapter, called Fire and Flood, addresses the June 2021 heat dome that killed hundreds in British Columbia, reaching just shy of 50 Celsius in Lytton and setting a new record for Canada. It’s not one to celebrate as it’s another consequence of climate change, St Clair emphasises. The heat followed months of unusually dry spring weather, and the day after the record was set, Lytton was destroyed in a sudden fire that swept through in just minutes. The details are devastating, but the chapter doesn’t end there. He wraps up with details on the atmospheric rivers of rain that deluged B.C. in October and November that year, creating landslides that killed four people and stranded hundreds of thousands as highways were washed away. The advance copy I read had no index, unfortunately, and it doesn’t appear the print version has any photos or graphics. That’s a shame, as it would be so helpful in explaining the science, and in conveying the devastation of these weather disasters. All in all, this is a fascinating and accessible book – a science-based memoir of a planet’s desperate plea for humans to change their behaviour, told through the eyes of a professional witness with a heart. It’s just been released, so add this to your Christmas gift list as well as picking up a copy for your own shelf. My thanks to Simon & Shuster Canada for the digital reading copy provided in exchange for my honest review.
More discussion and reviews of this book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60321047

I loved this book! I was flooded with memories. I was snowed-under by tales of natural disasters whose history revealed their man-made roots from earlier decisions. Well, enough of the weather puns...

Chris St. Clair's 27 yr career with the Weather Network has provided the background presented in 'Weather Permitting'. Twelve weather-related disasters are featured, most are Canadian. Told using meters not feet, Celsius not Fahrenheit, this focuses on Canadian measurements making this a Canadian book. I hope other releases will switch to feet and Fahrenheit to open the message of climate change to an international audience.

Definitely on my list of gift giving books!