Seemingly never-ending snow, extreme cold, and a mix of ice pellets and freezing rain. Across much of Canada, it’s been a nasty holiday weekend for weather.
Heavy snowfall pummelled parts of Ontario and Quebec on Sunday in the second severe storm of the week. Meanwhile, people in parts of Western Canada experienced extreme cold for a third day. And another storm rolled into the Maritimes, bringing heavy snow and icy conditions that were expected to last into Monday.
Environment Canada issued winter storm warnings for much of eastern Ontario and western Quebec. Emergency preparedness experts were urging people to stay home if possible in Ottawa as the city faced its second heavy dump of snow in recent days.
Similarly, in Toronto, Environment Canada on Sunday warned that travel conditions could “rapidly deteriorate” starting Sunday morning, with driving and walking getting more difficult and even dangerous in some areas.
Environment Canada said southern Ontario could expect 15 to 25 centimetres of additional snow. For much of eastern Ontario and western Quebec, the weather service predicted another 25 to 40 centimetres of snowfall.
Accidents in eastern Ontario
The Eastern Region Ontario Provincial Police were asking people to avoid travel as visibility worsened. Officers were sent to a single-vehicle rollover on Highway 401 east of Kingston, Ont., on Sunday morning, police said on X, adding there were no injuries.
In Clarington, Ont., police were called to the scene of a jack-knifed tractor trailer on Highway 401 overnight. Police said the driver lost control and the truck went over the median in blowing snow.
Meanwhile, OPP Central Region asked people to take emergency detour routes in Northumberland County, east of Oshawa, Ont., as the conditions worsened for highway drivers.
Several dozen flights were cancelled or delayed Sunday morning at Toronto Pearson International Airport amid heavy snowfall.
Toronto Pearson posted on X that the airport had accumulated over 12 centimetres of snow as of 8 a.m. ET on Sunday and was expecting another 15 centimetres by the end of the day.
Heaviest snow forecast in Quebec
Montreal and Quebec City were expected to receive up to 40 centimetres of snow — and the province’s Eastern Townships and the Gaspé Peninsula could get even more.
Strong winds and snow are also expected in parts of the Maritime provinces, with strong winds expected to last until Monday in some areas.
CBC P.E.I. meteorologist Jay Scotland said the main concern is potential outages, with freezing rain in the mix. He said the heaviest snow and ice-pellet accumulation will likely fall over western P.E.I., with the latest information showing 10-to-20-plus centimetres possible this evening and overnight.
Most of Western Canada was hit with extremely cold winds late Saturday and Environment Canada said the extreme cold warnings, first reported on Friday, would continue into the week.
The weather service said temperatures were forecast to drop to between -30 C and -50 C in many areas.
Warnings are in place for most of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
The chilly weather comes after weeks of mild temperatures caused by chinooks in December and January.
