It's a cold outside today but it's the heat that was making the most news in 2012 according to Environment Canada. "The Big Heat" was the biggest weather story on Environment Canada's Top 10 list.

"It's the fact that if you stick a thermometer into Canada, and it said 'well done,'" said Environment Canada Senior Climatologist David Phillips, who compiled the list. "This was the fourth-warmest year on record in 65 years, and the 16th in a row that we've seen normal to warmer-than-normal temperatures in Canada, and sort of in step with what we've seen globally, too."

The summer heat also triggered a lot of severe weather on the prairies, and that made the list at number five. "What a rockin' rollin' year it was on the prairies."

"I believe it was the second most severe summer weather in 20 years and we're not just talking about garden-variety thunderstorms, we're talking about the biggies... huge hailstorms, flooding rainfalls, tornadoes and all lots of other powerful winds."

Phillips added that out of the prairie provinces, Saskatchewan saw the bulk of the big storms, especially tornadoes. "There were fewer tornadoes in Alberta, I think there were only seven compared to what they normally would see, only three in Manitoba, but my gosh, in Saskatchewan you were hoarding all of the tornadoes. Thirty-three of those twisters compared to a normal year of 13."

Other highlights of the top 10 were Hurricane Sandy, drought conditions in Eastern Canada, and Phillips added that we should shed a tear for poor Calgary, who made the list for the third straight year after a hail storm hit in August.