Environment Canada says warming trends across the country will mean more severe blasts of rain, wind, snow and heat from Mother Nature.

Bob Robichaud, a warning preparedness meteorologist, says 2012 was the 16th year in a row that saw higher than normal temperatures across Canada.

Over the last 10 years, just four of 40 seasons were cooler than normal.

Robichaud says climate change experts are warning that residents on the East Coast should be ready for heavier rainfall events and more frequent non-tropical storms.

In St. John's, N.L., a powerful blizzard on Jan. 11 dumped more than 50 centimetres of snow and packed wind gusts of more than 100 kilometres per hour.

Over the last year, Canada saw intense heat waves, extreme flooding in B.C. and an active hurricane season that culminated in superstorm Sandy.