2-hour wildfire evacuation notice issued for some Fort McMurray neighbourhoods
A wildfire evacuation alert for some Fort McMurray residents has been updated to a two-hour evacuation notice.
As B.C. marks the first day of summer with a heatwave, one climatologist expects much of Canada to experience a hotter and drier than normal summer.
"I don't think it will be as brutally warm and torrid as it was last year," Environment and Climate Change Canada senior climatologist Dave Philips told CTV News Channel from his home in Barrie, Ont. Sunday. "But I think flavor of the summer looks like it's going to be warmer than normal."
Warmer temperatures will also require more precipitation, something that's been sorely lacking across the country.
"Clearly, we need a lot more precipitation than we're going to get, because under hotter than normal conditions, you typically find that you need more precipitation, not less," Phillips said.
"I think that will be the big story. The headline will be 'Canada Dry' from coast to coast to coast."
B.C. has been experiencing hotter average seasonal temperatures as a heatwave in the U.S. moves north, with temperatures culminating at 37 C this week in parts of the interior.
"We've heard so much about the southwestern heatwave in the States," Phillips said. "That same pressure pattern, that ridge, is flowing northward, and just capturing many parts of southern British Columbia."
As of Sunday morning, B.C.'s lower mainland and its surrounding areas, along with much of Vancouver Island, are under a special weather statement from Environment Canada, which says that temperatures could be up to 10 degrees above seasonal averages until Monday.
A high of 30 C on Sunday and 31 C on Monday is expected for the inland parts of the city of Vancouver. In Victoria, temperatures are expected to reach 26 C on Sunday and 27 C on Monday, although the areas near the water will be much cooler.
Phillips says the heat is expected to move further into the interior of the province, such as the Okanagan Valley, as the week progresses.
"Boy, the heat is going to build and then for the rest of the week, as that ridge moves in into the interior, you're going to see some very warm temperatures that could be as much as eight to 10 degrees warmer than normal in the Okanagan," he said.
Sunday's high in Kelowna, B.C., the largest community in the Okanagan, is expected to be 29 C. On Monday, temperatures will hit 32 C and are expected to stay above 30 C for the whole week, hitting a whopping 35 C on Friday and 37 C on Saturday.
"You know that's about a dozen degrees warmer than you normally would see this time of the year," said Phillips.
Making matters worse, Phillips notes that the area has been much drier than normal, increasing the risk of forest fires.
"Really since January, February, there's been very little precipitation. So already, the area is dry and showing stress," Phillips explained. "And you get this heat which just takes every beat of moisture out of the ground and the situation is quite serious probably from a health point of view but also from a potential forest fire and drought situation."
Phillips says this heatwave "looks like the effects of climate change" but adds that it's difficult to attribute it as "the only cause."
A wildfire evacuation alert for some Fort McMurray residents has been updated to a two-hour evacuation notice.
Saskatchewan RCMP are set to provide an update on what the service calls a 'significant' sexual assault and internet child exploitation investigation.
Canadian LifeLabs customers who filed an application for a class-action settlement began receiving their payments this week, though at a much lower amount than initially expected.
Nobel laureate Alice Munro, the Canadian literary giant who became one of the world's most esteemed contemporary authors and one of history's most honoured short story writers, has died at age 92.
Wildfires have led Environment Canada to issue air quality advisories for parts of B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, as forecasters warn the smoke could drift farther east.
An American accused of sexually assaulting a Pennsylvania college student in 2013 and later sending her a Facebook message that said, 'So I raped you,' has been detained in France after a three-year search.
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
Ontario Provincial Police are responding to a fatal collision involving two vehicles on Highway 417 in Ottawa's west end on Tuesday morning.
The Israeli flag is flying at Ottawa City Hall today to mark the country's national day, with plans to hold a private ceremony to mark Israel's Independence Day. There is a significant police presence at City Hall, including security barriers outside the main doors.
A team is ready to help an entangled North Atlantic right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
A $200 reward is being offered by a North Vancouver family for the safe return of their beloved chicken, Snowflake.
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.
YES Theatre Young Company opened its acclaimed kids’ show, One Small Step, at Sudbury Theatre Centre on Saturday.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.