It was a summer that ruined vacation plans, made things tough for farmers, and affected every Canadian.

     The colder-than-normal summer of 2009 was named Environment Canada's Top Weather Story of the Year.

     Senior Climatologist David Phillips says the prairies went through months of cold temperatures before finally warming up in the fall.

     Other top weather stories were the Alberta plough winds, record ice-jam flooding on Manitoba's Red River, the fires in British Columbia, a cold and drought combination in many parts of the prairies, and hailstorms in Alberta that caused millions of dollars in damage.