Toronto's year in chaotic weather and wondrous wildlife

Arguably, Toronto's newsmaker of the year was Mother Nature.

While 2024 began with a mild and oh-so-gloomy winter, the natural world soon delivered some moments impossible to ignore.

Here are some of CBC Toronto's most-read weather and wildlife stories of 2024:

Gloomy weather descended on Toronto in December — thanks, El Niño — and wound up sticking around for much of the winter. 

This was a plus for those who detest winter's typically-frigid climes, but a rough one for Torontonians battling seasonal depression. 

The winter did bring one delightful sight.

Jules McCusker could hardly believe his eyes when he spied a bald eagle nest near his home. While spotting one of the iconic birds of prey in the city is rare, the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) confirmed in March that what McCusker saw was Toronto's first-ever documented bald eagle nest.

On March 31, the minimum temperature recorded in Toronto's city centre climbed above the freezing mark and stayed there — for an astonishing 243 days. (Hat tip to Rolf Campbell, who tracked the streak on Reddit.)

The ultimate: "Where were you when?" moment of 2024.

Cheers broke out at 3:19 p.m. on April 8 outside the Rogers Centre as a partial solar eclipse brought the city to dusk, with the moon blocking over 90 per cent of the sun.

Environment Canada issued a heat warning for a vast strech of the province, from Windsor in the south all the way to Fort Albany in the north, and from Ottawa in the east to Sault Ste Marie in the west.

Daytime highs hovered between 30 C and 35 C, and felt more like 40 C with the humidity. 

It didn't cool down much at night either, prompting the city to open outdoor pools late.

Few places were spared the wrath of the major storm that charged across Toronto on July 16, not even city hall, where water poured through the roof.