'Brutally cold': Extreme weather warnings spread across Canada
'Brutally cold': Extreme weather warnings spread across Canada
Across the country, Canadians are turning up the thermostat as frigid temperatures and snow squalls creep in.
According to Environment and Climate Change Canada, as of Thursday morning there were extreme cold or winter storm warnings active from coast to coast, with the harshest extreme cold warnings stretching from northern Alberta all the way to Nova Scotia.
Regions of British Columbia are expecting significant snowfall, with Peace River set to receive 25-50 centimetres by Saturday morning.
In Fort McMurray, Alta., the wind chill will make the air feel like -40 degrees Celsius by Thursday afternoon.
On the other side of the country, residents of Halifax are bracing for an arctic airmass to strike on Friday, bringing with it a windchill value of -35 to -42 C, according to Environment Canada.
A map of alerts and warnings on the agency’s website shows a wide band of red warnings stretching from B.C. to the Atlantic provinces. There are warnings in place across all of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, with the vast majority of Manitoba, Quebec and Ontario covered in winter warnings as well.
This cold snap is in part due to a wave of cold from the Arctic’s polar vortex descending on Eastern Canada between Thursday night and Friday, according to climatologists.
"We'll see temperatures that are really, brutally cold," Environment Canada senior climatologist David Phillips told CTVNews.ca earlier this week. "It's really a one-and-a-half-day wonder.”
COLD COMING FOR EASTERN CANADA
In New Brunswick, extreme cold warnings project that by Friday it will feel like -35 C to -45 C, lasting into Saturday morning.
The frigid conditions are predicted to clear up in all Maritime provinces sometime on Saturday or by Sunday morning, depending on the region, according to Environment Canada.
A storm off of the coast of Labrador is set to complicate things, bringing gusts of wind reaching up to 50 kilometres per hour to 80 km/h Friday night and into Saturday afternoon.
As of Thursday afternoon, Newfoundland and Labrador is facing a few scattered warnings for blizzards and snowfall, as well as numerous special weather statements regarding the storm. However, they are not yet set to face the same frigid temperatures as the rest of the Atlantic provinces.
ONTARIO, QUEBEC, CENTRAL CANADA SHIVERING
Quebec experienced a mild January, but that’s all set to change with the arctic air heading their way Thursday night. Extreme cold warnings across the southern half of the province project that temperatures could feel between -38 C and -45 C with the wind chill, depending on the region, lasting through Saturday morning.
In Northern Quebec, it could feel like -50 C in some areas.
Montreal is opening two emergency shelters in response to the frigid temperatures, one in the Ville-Marie borough and one in the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough.
Ontario is also preparing to face the cold after a relatively warm January. Ottawa may see its coldest temperatures in years, according to Environment Canada’s projections, with -43 C expected Thursday night and into Friday morning with the wind chill.
In response, Ottawa Public Health has issued a frostbite warning for overnight Thursday. When the temperature reaches -35 C or colder, any exposed skin can freeze in just ten minutes, potentially leading to frostbite.
In the city of Toronto, temperatures could dip below the minus double digits for Friday into Saturday morning. Experts say the city could come close to breaking daily temperature records, with temperatures expected to dip close to -25 C, which was the record set for Feb. 3 in 1955.
Snow squalls are also expected in several regions in Ontario, including in Ottawa, Peterborough and Waterloo, among others.
Manitoba and Saskatchewan are also dealing with chilly conditions. In Manitoba, extreme cold warnings cover almost the entire province, with the temperature in Winnipeg set to dip near -30 C on Thursday and feel like -40 C with the wind chill.
Northern Saskatchewan is currently under numerous extreme cold warnings, but is expected to begin to warm up throughout Thursday.
This warming trend should stretch into Manitoba on Friday.
Overall inflation in Canada is cooling, according to just-released data, but the trend is not being reflected at grocery stores, where prices for some items continue to grow.
A collaborative new report has detailed the wide-ranging health impacts of plastics, right from their production all the way to their use and eventual disposal.
After weeks of resistance, and ahead of a vote that could have compelled it to happen, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office has announced that his chief of staff Katie Telford will testify about foreign interference, before a committee that has been studying the issue for months.
Some private landowners are refusing access to residential school survivors who are looking to perform ceremony or search their properties for possible unmarked graves, a Senate committee heard Tuesday.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has released foreign interference special rapporteur David Johnston's mandate, which instructs the former governor general to determine by May 23 whether a public inquiry is necessary.
Police in Guelph, Ont. have charged a man who they say failed a driving test before driving off and nearly hitting four people with his vehicle and then deciding to do burnouts in a parking lot.
A 15-year-old is facing a number of charges, including attempted murder, after two staff members were stabbed at a high school in Bedford, N.S., Monday morning.
The parents of young Ontario hockey player Ben Teague have been searching for answers since he died while at a team retreat in 2019. The mystery about what happened and the code of silence in hockey culture is explored in CTV W5's 'What Happened to Ben,' on CTVNews.ca and W5's official YouTube channel.
The parents of young Ontario hockey player Ben Teague have been searching for answers since he died while at a team retreat in 2019. The mystery about what happened and the code of silence in hockey culture is explored in 'What Happened to Ben' on CTV W5.
The RCMP knew about a potential cocaine shipment from the Dominican Republic to Toronto aboard a Canadian charter flight but inexplicably allowed the crew that discovered and reported the drugs to be detained for months without intervening, a W5 investigation has revealed.
CTV W5 investigates what authorities knew about plans to smuggle cocaine out of the Dominican Republic on a Toronto-bound Pivot Airlines flight. The airline's crew is demanding justice following their eight-month detention.
A 64-year-old grandmother from Barrie, Ont. faces life in prison in Hong Kong, accused of smuggling drugs, after being duped twice in what her family believes was a sophisticated romance scam.
Anishinaabe podcaster Ryan McMahon sought to uncover the truth behind the deaths of several Indigenous people in Thunder Bay, Ont. in a new Crave Original documentary.
The Farmers' Almanac has released its 2023 summer forecast, and, according to the long-range forecaster, Ontario could be in for some 'hot and soggy' summer months.
At least 10 people are displaced after a century building in the heart of Aylmer was destroyed by fire Monday evening. The blaze broke out shortly after 8:30 pm on Talbot Street.
An 81-year old property owner tells CTV News he’ll do the work himself without machinery, if that’s the method directed by city council. Three years after John McLeod demolished the historic barn on Halls Mill Road without a permit, a plan to remove the pile of wooden debris is taking shape.
As asylum seekers pour across the border between New York and Quebec at near-record numbers, the city is being asked to accommodate even more at area hotels.
A 31-year-old neuroscientist is believed to be among the six people missing after a massive fire in Old Montreal last week. An Wu was staying at the heritage building on Place d'Youville to attend a conference, according to friends and family.
Rescuers have yet to recover any additional bodies from the wreck of a fire in Old Montreal last week. As of Tuesday morning, there were still six people missing. The body of one victim, a woman, was extracted on Sunday.
Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard is scheduled to table the first budget of the Coalition Avenir Québec's second mandate this afternoon. Girard broke with tradition on Monday — instead of buying new shoes ahead of the budget, he announced a $5,000 donation to a Quebec City community centre.
A 15-year-old is facing a number of charges, including attempted murder, after two staff members were stabbed at a high school in Bedford, N.S., Monday morning.
The president of the Nova Scotia Teachers Union (NSTU) is weighing in after two staff members and a student, who is also the suspect, were injured in a stabbing at Charles P. Allen High School in Bedford, N.S., Monday morning.
The New Brunswick government has tabled a $12.2-billion budget that forecasts a small surplus and promises a funding boost to help stabilize the ailing health-care sector.
Razak Iyal was given a warm embrace as he officially became a Canadian citizen, more than six years after nearly freezing to death walking across the Canada-United States border in Manitoba.
Students and community members will gather in protest outside the Calgary Board of Education Centre Tuesday morning, calling for the removal of the Sir John A. Macdonald name from a northwest junior high school.
A Wheatland County sanctuary that cares for abandoned and surrendered farm animals faces an uncertain future after having a permit application to keep operating denied.
The Edmonton police officers killed in the line of duty last week will be moved to a funeral home on Tuesday. A procession will take constables Brett Ryan and Travis Jordan from the medical examiner's office to Serenity Funeral Home at noon.
One person was arrested in Surrey Monday after police say a speeding driver hit a pedestrian who was walking on the sidewalk, sending the victim to hospital.
A 15-year-old is facing a number of charges, including attempted murder, after two staff members were stabbed at a high school in Bedford, N.S., Monday morning.
After weeks of resistance, and ahead of a vote that could have compelled it to happen, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office has announced that his chief of staff Katie Telford will testify about foreign interference, before a committee that has been studying the issue for months.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has released foreign interference special rapporteur David Johnston's mandate, which instructs the former governor general to determine by May 23 whether a public inquiry is necessary.
In an effort to keep the foreign interference story at the forefront, and to do an apparent end run around the Liberal filibuster blocking one study from going ahead, the Conservatives forced the House to spend Monday debating a motion instructing an opposition-dominated House committee to strike its own review.
U.S. cases of the dangerous fungus Candida auris tripled over just three years, and researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say the COVID-19 pandemic is likely partly to blame. More than half of states have now reported it, according to a new study.
A new report that looks at the prevalence of marketing to children inside grocery stores and restaurants suggests regulation is needed to help reduce unhealthy food temptations.
Health Canada has launched a new toll-free number, 1-844-POISON-X, or 1-844-764-7669, to help people across the country access critical medical advice related to poisonings more easily.
TikTok went on a counteroffensive Tuesday amid increasing Western pressure over cybersecurity and misinformation concerns, rolling out updated rules and standards for content as its CEO warned against a possible U.S. ban on the Chinese-owned video sharing app.
A Vancouver parent has launched a proposed class-action lawsuit against the makers of Fortnite, saying the popular video game is designed to be “as addictive as possible” for children.
Gwyneth Paltrow appeared in court in Utah on Tuesday morning in a lawsuit filed by a retired optometrist who said that the actor-turned-lifestyle influencer violently crashed into him in 2016 while skiing at one of the most upscale ski resorts in the United States.
Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne were among the 'John Wick: Chapter 4' stars honouring Lance Reddick, their co-star who died unexpectedly last week, at the film's Los Angeles premiere.
Public screenings of a slasher film that features Winnie the Pooh were scrapped abruptly in Hong Kong on Tuesday, sparking discussions over increasing censorship in the city.
Overall inflation in Canada is cooling, according to just-released data, but the trend is not being reflected at grocery stores, where prices for some items continue to grow.
The International Monetary Fund said Tuesday it is assessing Sri Lanka's governance in the first case of an Asian country facing scrutiny for corruption as part of a bailout program.
Strength in energy stocks as well as the financial and technology sectors helped Canada's main stock index gain more than 150 points in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets also pushed higher.
The 2023 World Happiness Report identifies the happiest nations, those at the very bottom of the happiness scale and everything in between, plus the factors that tend to lead to greater happiness.
March 21 is World Down Syndrome Day and to mark the occasion a Canadian organization launched a campaign showcasing older people living with the condition.
The NCAA changed its setup for the women's tournament this season, trimming the traditional four regional sites to two. Seattle and Greenville -- a city of 71,000 in South Carolina about halfway between Atlanta and Charlotte, North Carolina -- will each host eight teams before sending the winners on to Dallas for the Final Four.
Three misdemeanour charges were filed Monday against the son of Philadelphia Flyers interim general manager Danny Briere after a video posted on social media showed him and another Mercyhurst University athlete pushing an unoccupied wheelchair down a staircase.
Martina Navratilova returned to TV work at Tennis Channel for its coverage of the Miami Open on Tuesday, less than three months after saying she had throat cancer and breast cancer.
U.S. auto safety regulators are investigating complaints from Honda Civic drivers that their steering can stick, causing a momentary increase in effort and increasing the risk of a crash.
The 2023 Challenger SRT Demon 170 will deliver 1,025 horsepower from its 6.2-litre supercharged V-8, and the automaker says it will be the quickest production car made.
Police in Guelph, Ont. have charged a man who they say failed a driving test before driving off and nearly hitting four people with his vehicle and then deciding to do burnouts in a parking lot.
